WENCHOW
州温
Wan-chau
Wênchow, one of the five ports opened to foreign trade by the Chefoo Convention, is the chief town in the department of Wênchow, occupying the south-east corner of Chekiang province. The city is situated on the south bank of the river Ou, about twenty miles from its mouth, in lat. 27 deg. 18 min. 4 sec. N., long. 120 deg. 38 min. 28 sec. E. The site is a well cultivated plain, bounded on all sides, but at a distance of some five miles, by lofty hills. The walls are said to have been first erected during the fourth century, and enlarged and re-built by the Emperor Hung Wu in 1385. They are formed of stone, diagonally laid at the foundation, and partly also of brick, and measure about four miles in circumference. The streets are wider, straighter, and cleaner than those of most Chinese cities. They are mostly well paved with brick and kept in careful repair by the householders. They slope down on either side to waterways, which in their turn communicate with canals intersecting the whole city. There are numerous large nunneries and temples in Wênchow. The Custom-house, outside the chief gate, known as the Shwang Men or "Double Gate," the Taotai's Yamên, the Prefect's and other public offices in a cluster, and the Foundling Hospital, all near the centre, are the other chief buildings. The latter institution, built in 1748, contains one hundred apartments. Among the objects of greatest interest and curiosity to the stranger are two pagodas situated on "Conquest" Island, abreast of the city. They are both of great antiquity and, with the temples between, were for some time the retreat of Ti Ping, the last Emperor of the Sung dynasty, when seeking to escape from the Mongols under Kublai Khan. His Majesty Ti Ping has left behind him autographs preserved to this day in the adjoining temple.
adjoining temple. Members of the Customs staff occupy for- eign-built houses on the island. The estimated population of the city with its suburbs is 100,000. There were Boxer troubles in the Ping-yang district, several native Christians being murdered, in 1900, and all the missionaries left Wênchow, where, however, the officials were able to maintain order. The Roman Catholic Missionaries have a spacious and imposing Cathedral in the western part of the city. The English Methodist Mission has a church capable of seating about a thousand people. In 1903 this Mission erected a fine college at a cost of $20,000, containing sleeping accommodation for over a hundred students, and teaching accommodation for more than two hundred. Early in 1906 an extensive and substantially constructed Hospital was also completed by this Mission at an outlay of fully $20,000. The building consists of a central block and two wings, after the style of Hunt's Block, Guy's Hospital, and can accommodate about two hundred patients.
There is no foreign settlement at Wênchow, and the foreign residents are a mere handful, consisting almost entirely of officials and missionaries. There is a considerable native export trade in tea, bitter oranges, tobacco, timber, charcoal, and bamboos, but manufactures do not flourish. The shops and yards engaged in the timber trade are situated in the west suburb, where immense quantities of bamboos and poles are kept. on hand. The net value of the trade of the port coming under the cognizance of the Foreign Customs for 1914 was Hk. Tls. 3,616,980, as compared with Hk. Tls. 3,690,902 for 1913, Hk. Tls. 3,749,883 for 1912, Hk. Tls. 2,647,997 for 1911, and Hk. Tls. 2,722,251 for 1910.
During August and September of 1912 two abnormal freshets visited the port, causing immense destruction to life and property. In the upper reaches of the main river the water rose 60 feet above normal level, washing away villages, and carrying away houses bodily. Some 30,000 people are reported to have been drowned in the Yungchia, Chingtien, Ch'uchow and Juian magistracies. Such a local calamity was unprecedented within the memory of the oldest inhabitant.