Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition/I-Chang

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I-CHANG, or Y-Chang, also called Y-Lin in some maps, a town of China, in the province of Hoo-pih, one of the four new ports opened to foreign trade by treaty in 1877. It is situated in 30° 42′ N. lat. and (approximately) 111° 20′ E. long,—363 geographical miles up the Yang-tze-Keang from Hankow. Built on the left bank of the river just where it escapes from the ravines and gorges which for 350 miles have imprisoned its channel, I-chang is exposed to considerable risk of floods; in 1870 the waters rose as much as 20 feet in one day, and the town had many of its houses and about half of its wall swept away. The first English vessels to make the ascent of the river as far as I-chang were those of Admiral Sir James Hope’s expedition in 1861. In 1878 the port was visited by 16 Chinese steamers with a burden of 5440 tons, and the net value of the trade was 71,014 Hk. taels (of about 6s.); in the following year the net value had increased to 612,508 Hk. taels. Trepang was one of the principal articles. The Chinese population is estimated at 33,560 (Deutsches Handels Archiv, 1880); and in 1878 there were fifteen foreign residents.