Research On Modern Port Trade In Pakhoi(1877-1949)

The Qing government signed with Britain the Sino-British Yantai Treaty in 1876, agreeing to open up Pakhoi as a trading port and on April 1, 1877 Pakhoi officially opened to trade, which made a great difference to social and economic development in Pakhoi and surrounding regions since then until contemporary times. This thesis takes Pakhoi's port trade from 1887 to 1949 as the research object, mainly relying on modern Pakhoi customs trade report on the total amount of port trade, the relationship between port trade and the changes of hinterland, the relationship between port trade and harbor potential changes, the factors affecting the process of port trade and the relationship between modern Pakhoi customs trade and contemporary development of coastal ports in Guangxi. The thesis includes six parts, which are as the followings:PartⅠ: IntroductionThis part presents the origin of the topic and its significance. Based on the conclusion and analysis of current research situations in the field, the thesis proposes to inherit the trade characteristics of different historical periods and the academic point of view summarized by academia predecessors, attempting to further develop and breakthrough the application of historical materials, narrative mode, research perspective, and theoretical methods. Part II: Analysis of the port trade volume.The thesis first briefly analyzes the changes over the years of total volume of the Pakhoi's port trade and roughly outlines the basic trends of modern Pakhoi's port trade. And then it examines the three components of port trade volume including foreign imports, local imports and local exports and analyzes their characteristics.Part III: Port trade and the changes of the hinterland.This part probes into commercial network from Pakhoi port to the inland, describe its hinterland areas and analyzes its trade relationship among Kwangsi, Yunnan and Kweichow. For example, Wu-chou, Mengtsz and Kwangchowwan change the trend of southwest areas' foreign trade routes, and compete with Pakhoi for inland economic hinterland.Part IV: Port trade and the harbor potential changesThis part concludes the Pakhoi's shipped network through its external shipped routes, and mainly introduces the five main trade partners: Macao,HongKong,Annam,Hainan and Sumatra. Based on the analysis of Pakhoi's function and impact, the thesis thinks that the port position should be the pivotal ports in the Beibu Bay coast and the sub-trade port in the trade circles of southern China coast.Part V: Analysis on the factors in the process of port tradeThis part focuses on the five factors affecting the process of port trade. The first is the harbour conditions. It analyzes the innate default and acquired transformation of this natural endowment. The second is the land transport. The lag of highway and railway construction from Pakhoi to inland and the changed course of Guangxi access to the sea lead to the decline of points-Axes effect from Pakhoi port to hinterland and the frustration in fighting for hinterland. The third is maritime transport. The disorderly competition in Pakhoi's shipping industry results in the transport instability. Thus it can not reflect Pakhoi's maritime transport advantages. The fourth is the customs tariff. The changes of customs tariff in Pakhoi and the neighboring ports have a direct impact on the growth and decline of Pakhoi's port trade. The fifth is the marine culture. People's spiritual awareness also has an important impact on economic activities. Pakhoi's aboriginal maritime cultural weakness primarily reflects in the lack of commercial awareness and sense of progress, which is also a factor that can not be ignored in the process of Pakhoi's port trade.Part VI: The contemporary development of coastal ports in Guangxi from a point of view of the historical evolutionThe author relates and compares the development of modern Pakhoi port and the contemporary coastal ports in Guangxi and thinks about the development course of coastal ports in Guangxi from a point of view of the historical evolution.Through the re-interpretation of the history of modern Pakhoi port trade and the history of greater scope of Beibu Gulf region, the thesis attempts to provide a new historical enlightenment in respond to the new springing up need of the times in this region.