Pre-War Tientsin

All trips are not so successful as the ones mentioned, and there are many when fishing is poor and the ship is forced to return with half a cargo. In that case she will be lucky to pay expenses. However, on the average for the year, they make a good living.

Extract from letter from F. Martin, Esq.,

W/O., S.S. Holmpark.

January, 1940.

Tientsin, like all the other International Settlements in China, is divided up into sections called Concessions, in which the different nationalities in the city live. Thus there is a British Concession and a French Concession, etc. Each Concession has its own police force, and in the case of the British these are Sikhs. The city itself is no different from an ordinary town in England such as Leeds, except that Tientsin is possibly the cleaner of the two. It has parks, trams, imposing buildings and even traffic lights, although they are hand-controlled by the policeman on point duty. The main difference between the two towns is the people, and in the case of Tientsin the " Rickshaws." I daresay you have all seen pictures of them at some time or another, just a small carriage with two large wheels and a pair of shafts, and propelled by one man. They are the cheapest and easiest form of transport, although cars and bicycles are used by many. One has only to shout " Rickshaw " and they come running from every direction to obtain your fare.

The Chinaman himself is a bit different from the average person's conception of him: he has no pigtail and he wears a trilby, although instead of trousers and jacket of the European he still keeps to the traditional long-sleeved robe of his ancestors. The women wear short starched trousers and little jackets of the same material, although the modern young Chinese " Miss " has taken to skirts and lipstick. Moreover, except in the case of the older women their feet are a natural size, as the custom of binding up the women's feet when they are young has now been abolished.

Apart from the usual run of everyday incidents and the usual forms of amusements, there were one or two outstanding happenings. One day the presence of bandits near the city was reported, and the troops were rushed to the outskirts of the Settlement in case they came anywhere near. I remember vividly the thrill I got when I went to 49