Directory_and_Chronicle_1845 — Page 417

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colder provinces of Shantung Chihlí, Honín, Shansi, Shensi, and regions beyond them in Mánchú and Mongolia.

The product of furs, we suppose, will decrease; but the demand for warm clothing, in these northern latitudes, wilt not soon cease; and it is natural to suppose that the demand for woollens will, in due time, be greatly augmented, to the mutual advantage of both the consumer in this hemisphere and the manufacturer at our antipodes. The power of steam has not yet accomplished the half it is evidently designed to effect, in bringing into closer proximity the whole fami ly of man, by facilitating inter-communication among nations now remote from each other. Besides, as China and central Asia are opened, a thousand new productions will be discovered, and new demands not a few will be created, all tending to swell the tide of eastern commerce, especially at this point, where the great rivers from the west and north-west converge, and bring together the vari- ous products of immense and densely populated regions.

The domestic commerce—the retail business of Shánghái—will be best understood by a stroll through some of the principal streets. Pass then, if you please, from the foreign factories, over the Yang- king pang, and keep on southward between the rivers and wall, through the most busy parts of the easterns suburbs, surveying on the left as your go, all the shipping, first the foreign, then the native; having reached the extreine southern point, turn about, come half way back, enter the great eastern gate, and proceed right on west- ward to the center of the city; there turn northward; make your way through two or three streets, enter and survey the great temple the Chinghwang miáu and its gardens and shops, and from thence, by the north gate, return to the place of your departure; and you will have had under your eye the best specimens of all there is to be seen of the home trade of Shánghái.

Off the foreign factories, and contiguous to each other, are now at anchor fourteen foreign merchantmen and one small ship of war. From this anchorage, for the distance of more than a mile up the river, rows of junks are moored, more than you would undertake to count. To and from these and the warehouses close along upon the river's bank, goods are easily transferred; and in your stroll you will have seen the manner in which these are stored, bought and Bold. A few large warehouses are to be seen; but most of these esta- blishments, and nearly all the shops, are small and the competition is evidently very sharp. A catalogue of the articles on sale would include almost every product of China and of Chinese consump