Britain, an old imperialistic nation, had begun operating in China's internal regions since the late Ch'ing Dynasty and had taken control of the Yangtze River valley. Due to the subjective and objective hindrance, the British focused their activities primarily on the middle and lower parts of the Yangtze River. After World War I however, the British actively expanded their operations and launched a new expedition to the upper Yangtze to secure an extensive shipping business. However as the British shipping companies with their large fleet were establishing commercial dominance in the upper Yangtze, the political, military and social conditions in Szechuan and Hupei were gradually deteriorating. The seemingly booming steam shipping business was thus in reality under grave threat. Frequent attacks by the locals on British steamers incurred significant material damage and casualties. As a result, the British diplomats, consuls, naval officers, and the British chamber of commerce in China all worked to analyze and solve the problems. In summary, the main focus of this article is to delve into the extremely complicated security problems faced by British merchant shipping on the upper Yangtze during the 1920s, and their reactions and perceived potential solutions to these problems.