Surveying Empire
To fuel plans to develop Xing An, survey teams paid careful attention to the potential coal and other valuable minerals in the region. In a grandiose report full of ambitious but vaguely defined plans for the construction of transportation networks, schools, and the creation of a civil administration, the discussion on the development of logging and mining delved into specific details, including information on the locations of coal seams and valuable mineral deposits. Earlier in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, Russian geologists and mining engineers had surveyed the region for gold; the Chinese officers brought their own experts. Subsequently, the Japanese controlled South Manchuria Railroad also showed an interest in developing mining enterprises in the region.For concluding thoughts on this module, click on the link below.