'One Belt, One River': Maritime and Inland River Trade in Guangdong and Guangxi Provinces (1897–1926) = 一帶一河: 廣東及廣西兩省海洋及內河貿易


Project title
'One Belt, One River': Maritime and Inland River Trade in Guangdong and Guangxi Provinces (1897–1926) = 一帶一河: 廣東及廣西兩省海洋及內河貿易
 
Principal Investigator
 
 
Grant Awarding Body
Research Grants Council
 
Grant Type
Faculty Development Scheme
 
Project Code
UGC/FDS15/H04/17
 
Amount awarded
$417,626
 
Funding Year
2017/18
 
Duration of the Project
36 months
 
Status
Completed
 
Abstract
This proposed project will address the conflict and cooperation between two aspects of private Chinese maritime trade on the coasts and inland rivers of Guangdong and Guangxi provinces: customs clearance and the registration of steamships under the treaty port and modern maritime customs systems; and vague regulations and flexible business models for Chinese junks and steam launches under the triple maritime zones (foreign colonies, treaty ports and non-treaty ports) and dual maritime customs system (foreign customs, native customs and likin administration).

The proposed project will investigate the trade routes and business models of Chinese junks and steam launches across the porous Hong Kong–China border and the network of treaty and non-treaty ports on the Pearl River, and their significance to maritime trade and the efforts of Chinese players to defend domestic trade by including the Chinese local governments and private Chinese traders in the late Qing and early Republican periods.