Life and times of Yichang Port
2023-11-04 17:11:09
Chinese version by Zheng Yi, Deng Shu, Li Guoqing, China Water Transport
English version edited by Tan Maolin, Yichang International Communication Studio
Yichang lies at the junction of the middle and upper reaches of the Yangtze River, and has long been known as the "Gateway to the Three Gorges" and the "Sichuan-Hubei Gullet". The history of Yichang city is inseparable from its strategic position on the Yangtze River.
Photo by Mao Jingyi
As early as the Eastern Han Dynasty (25-220), people were trying to row boats upstream in the Three Gorges waterway. From the Han to the Tang Dynasty (618-907), many large-scale river battles occurred near Yichang, the most famous of which is the "Wu-Shu Yiling Battle" (221-222) during the Three Kingdoms period. These battles between ancient states highlighted the military importance of holding and controlling Yichang.
During the Sui and Tang dynasties, areas along the Yangtze River began to develop close economic ties. The ancient port of Yichang was not only the waterway fortress between the Sichuan and Chu regions, but also an important berth for passing merchant ships. Boats could moor there, passengers could get on and off and a ferry service began.
In the Qing Dynasty (1616-1912), water and land transit boosted the development of the ancient port of Yichang. The main types of cargo transported through Yichang included the traditional staples of grain, salt and timber, but also copper, lead and food grown in the mountains. The variety and volume of cargo continued to increase.
Between 1851 and 1858, a period when the Qing Dynasty authorized Sichuan’s salt makers to sell salt to the Hubei and Hunan region, Yichang port prospered mightily because the other route linking this market with salt making areas in Jiangsu province was cut off by the soldiers of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom (1851-1864). Convenient, low-cost transport dynamized the market for Sichuan salt. Yichang port benefited greatly from this new business, with wooden boats moored in clusters along the Yangtze River bank all the way from Shanghe Street to Erma Road.
Yichang’s transformation into a modern port began with the opening of the commercial port in 1876.
After the Yantai Treaty (also known as the Chefoo Convention) was signed in 1876, the United Kingdom forced the Qing administration to open Yichang, along with Wuhu, Wenzhou and Beihai, as a trading port. Protected by what later historians called the unequal treaty, foreign countries piled in to build wharves, warehouses, office buildings and other facilities, seeking to extract benefit from the shipping business in Yichang.
In 1878, the steamship “Yiling” built by British merchants made a test voyage between Yichang and Hankou (part of Wuhan City). In the same year, the vessel “Jiangping” belonging to the Chinese company China Merchants Steamship Navigation Company opened the first regular passenger and cargo line between Yichang and Hankou.
In 1908, a Chinese company launched the “Shutong”, the first ship to provide a regular commercial link between Yichang and Chongqing.
As shipping activities became busier, Yichang port expanded. By 1928, Yichang had 11 wharves, including four for national shipping companies, three for foreign shipping companies, one for foreign factories, two for government usage and one for the Customs office.
In 1899, the Swire Company built a wharf in Yichang, making Yichang a hub for the Yichang - Chongqing, Yichang - Wuhan, and Yichang - Shanghai routes.
During the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression (1931 – 1945), Yichang’s strategically important position made it the natural choice to be a logistics supply base and transportation hub. Huge amounts of military equipment and personnel passed through the city.
English version edited by Tan Maolin, Yichang International Communication Studio
Yichang lies at the junction of the middle and upper reaches of the Yangtze River, and has long been known as the "Gateway to the Three Gorges" and the "Sichuan-Hubei Gullet". The history of Yichang city is inseparable from its strategic position on the Yangtze River.
Photo by Mao JingyiDuring the Sui and Tang dynasties, areas along the Yangtze River began to develop close economic ties. The ancient port of Yichang was not only the waterway fortress between the Sichuan and Chu regions, but also an important berth for passing merchant ships. Boats could moor there, passengers could get on and off and a ferry service began.
In the Qing Dynasty (1616-1912), water and land transit boosted the development of the ancient port of Yichang. The main types of cargo transported through Yichang included the traditional staples of grain, salt and timber, but also copper, lead and food grown in the mountains. The variety and volume of cargo continued to increase.
Between 1851 and 1858, a period when the Qing Dynasty authorized Sichuan’s salt makers to sell salt to the Hubei and Hunan region, Yichang port prospered mightily because the other route linking this market with salt making areas in Jiangsu province was cut off by the soldiers of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom (1851-1864). Convenient, low-cost transport dynamized the market for Sichuan salt. Yichang port benefited greatly from this new business, with wooden boats moored in clusters along the Yangtze River bank all the way from Shanghe Street to Erma Road.
Yichang’s transformation into a modern port began with the opening of the commercial port in 1876.
After the Yantai Treaty (also known as the Chefoo Convention) was signed in 1876, the United Kingdom forced the Qing administration to open Yichang, along with Wuhu, Wenzhou and Beihai, as a trading port. Protected by what later historians called the unequal treaty, foreign countries piled in to build wharves, warehouses, office buildings and other facilities, seeking to extract benefit from the shipping business in Yichang.
In 1878, the steamship “Yiling” built by British merchants made a test voyage between Yichang and Hankou (part of Wuhan City). In the same year, the vessel “Jiangping” belonging to the Chinese company China Merchants Steamship Navigation Company opened the first regular passenger and cargo line between Yichang and Hankou.
In 1908, a Chinese company launched the “Shutong”, the first ship to provide a regular commercial link between Yichang and Chongqing.
As shipping activities became busier, Yichang port expanded. By 1928, Yichang had 11 wharves, including four for national shipping companies, three for foreign shipping companies, one for foreign factories, two for government usage and one for the Customs office.
In 1899, the Swire Company built a wharf in Yichang, making Yichang a hub for the Yichang - Chongqing, Yichang - Wuhan, and Yichang - Shanghai routes.
During the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression (1931 – 1945), Yichang’s strategically important position made it the natural choice to be a logistics supply base and transportation hub. Huge amounts of military equipment and personnel passed through the city.
