FOOCHOW
Fuh-chau
Foochow (or Fuh-chau-fu) is the capital of the Fukien province. It is situated in at. 26 deg. 20 min 24 sec. N., and long. 119 deg. 20 min. E. The city is built on a plain on the northern side of the river Min, and is distant about thirty-four miles from the sea, and nine miles from Pagoda Island, where foreign vessels anchor.
The attention of foreigners was early attracted to Foochow as a likely place where commercial intercourse could be profitably carried on in the shipment of Bahea Tea, which is grown largely in the locality. Before the port was opened, this article used to be carried overland to Canton for shipment, a journey which was both long and difficult. The East India Company, as early as 1830, made representations in favour of the opening of the port, but nothing definite was done till the conclusion of the Treaty of Nanking in 1842. The early years of intercourse with the natives were anything but what was anticipated. The navigation of the river was difficult, there was no market for imports, and several attacks by the populace rendered the port an undesirable place of residence for some time. It was not until some ten years after the port had been opened that there was much done in the export of tea from the interior, but after that the quantity shipped increased largely, and Foochow became one of the principal tea ports in China. Since 1880, when the tea trade of the port reached its highest figure, the prosperity of the place has been on the wane. Local teas are only wanted now if they can be bought cheaply enough to bring down the prices of Indian and Ceylon blends. Within 20 years a valuable trade has dwindled to the most meagre dimensions, and thousands of acres must have gone out of cultivation.
A few years ago extensive mining concessions were granted in the north and west of the province of Fukien to a Chinese and French syndicate, with a view to mining for gold. A French mining engineer of high repute made a careful survey of all the gold fields at Shao-wu Fu, and reported them very valuable and all worth working. A company with a capital of one and a quarter million dollars was reported to have been formed to work the mines, but operations were delayed until the privilege expired and nothing has been done.
The city is built around three hills, and the circuit of the walled portion is between six and seven miles in length. The walls are about thirty feet high and twelve feet wide at the top. The streets were narrow and filthy, but during the past few years re- markable improvements have been carried out, shop fronts have been set back, street stalls done away with, the old paving stones have been utilised to make drains and the roads have been macadamised A fairly wide and well made road has been con- structed from the Long Bridge to the city, trees have been planted on either side and the Electric Company are responsible for the excellent lighting.
The Long Bridge has been repaved, the stone steps on either end have been taken away, and now it is possible to ride in jin rickshas from the Nantai Island into the city. A large number of rickshas and a fair number of carriages are now employed; the roads however are not sufficiently wide to allow of the introduction of motors.
The climate of Foochow is mild and delightful for about nine months of the year but in the summer it is rather trying, the range of the thermometer then being from 74 deg. Fahr. to 98 deg.
The scenery surrounding Foochow is very beautiful. In sailing up the Min river from the sea vessels have to leave the wide stream and enter what is called the Kimpai Pass, which is barely half-a-mile across, and, enclosed as it is by bold, rocky walls, it presents a very striking appearance. The Pass of Min-ngan is narrower, and with its towering cliffs, surmounted by fortifications and cultivated terraces, is extremely pictur- esque, and has been compared to some of the scenes on the Rhine. The Yung Fu, a tributary of the Min, also affords some charming scenery, the hills rising very abruptly from the river bank. The Min Monastery, the Moon Temple, and the Kushan Monastery, all occupying most romantic and beautiful sites, are fine specimens of Chinese religious edifices, and are much resorted to by visitors. Game abounds in all the ravines and mountains in the vicinity of Foochow, while tigers and panthers are common in the more remote hills, and some of these beasts have been killed within ten miles of the city.