230  THE  CHINESE  EMPIRE
Hankow  (30 o  35'  N.,  114 0  17'  E.),  “  Han-mouth,”  is
situated  at  the  junction  of  the  Han  River  and  the  Yangtze  ,
across  the  Han  is  Hanyang,  containing  extensive  iron  and
steel  works  ;  and  opposite  both,  across  the  Yangtze,  #
Wuchang,  the  provincial  capital  :  the  combined  population
of  the  triple  mart  is  estimated  at  870,000.  This  was  an
important  commercial  centre  before  the  foreign  trader  put
in  an  appearance  ;  was  further  developed  when  it  constituted ­
  the  head  of  steam  navigation  ;  still  further  developed
since  the  opening  of  the  upper  reaches  of  the  Yangtze  to
steamers  ;  and  its  recent  start  as  a  railway  centre  can  only
add  to  its  importance.  Opened  as  a  treaty  port  in  1861,
an  area  of  62  acres  was  granted  to  the  British  Government
as  a  concession,  governed  on  the  same  plan  as  that  o
Tientsin  ;  here  for  thirty-five  years  merchants  of  all  nations
lived  and  traded,  content  with  their  modest  area  and  its
half-mile  of  river  frontage.  In  1896  this  concession  was
extended  by  an  additional  area  of  53  acres,  on  the  same
footing  as  the  original  grant.  Next  below  the  British
concession  is  the  Russian.  A  French  concession  was
granted  in  1861,  but  was  not  taken  up,  and  was  re-granted
in  1896.  Next  below  the  French  comes  the  German  concession, ­
  granted  in  1895,  with  an  area  of  108  acres  ;  and
below  the  German  is  the  Japanese  concession  of  31  acres-Including
  the  Peking-Hankow  Railway  reservation,  still
farther  down  stream,  there  is,  starting  from  the  Chinese
business  quarter  of  Hankow,  a  frontage  of  6,000  yards
under  foreign  control,  most  of  it  well  bunded.  The  foreign
population  of  Hankow,  in  December  1905,  was  2,15*'
including  504  British,  500  American,  162  German,  68
rench,  89  Russian,  84  Belgian,  134  Italian,  537  Japanese*
and  73  others.  When  present  plans  are  carried  out.
Hankow  will  be  at  the  intersection  of  a  cross,  formed  by
the  Yangtze  from  east  to  west,  and  the  trunk  railway
Pekmg-Hankow-Canton  from  north  to  south,  and  it  is
difficult  to  set  any  moderate  limit  to  its  prospect  oi
development.  In  the  past  the  value  of  its  trade  has
been  as  follows  :—