Directory_and_Chronicle_1845 — Page 659

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ed at 100,000 more. Few cities are more favorably situated for access than Amoy, but its water communication with the interior is not so commodious. The harbor is one of the best on the coast.

Tsiuenchau fú, or Chinchew, ranks next to Fuhchau fú in wealth, and political importance.

Beside the Min and its tributaries, there are but few rivers, worthy of note; two of the largest are the Tung ki and the Tá-shi★★, each of them having many smaller branches; the Lung ki 龍溪 near Chángchaut, and the Peb-shwui R. É*

in the northeast, are the only other rivers of note. There are no lakes.

Province of Chehkiáng.

1

Chekkiáng is of a circular form, extending from lat. 29° 30′ to 31° 20′ N. and from long 1° 48′ to 6° 30′ E. of Peking, and includes under its jurisdiction all the islands of the Chusan Archipelago. On the north it is bounded by Kiángsú; east by the sea; south by Fuh- kien; and west by Kiángsí and Ngánbwui. The country is in general hilly. The rivers of the province are numerous, and most of them have an easterly course. The chief river is the Tsientang kiáng, a navigable river, near the mouth of which Hángchau, the capital is situated. Further to the south, the Ngau kiáng and Nán kiáng flow into the sea. Its coasts are studded with islands, which extend as far as the Yangtsz' kiáng. The most important is the Chusan group, consisting of seventeen or eighteen islands, the largest of which, Chau shún, or Boat island, gives its name to the whole. It is the smallest of the eighteen provinces, and its area corresponds to that of Ohio, or a little larger than that of Ireland or Portugal.

Hángchau fú, the capital of this province, lies in the northern part, about two miles from the Tsientáng, on a plain, and forty or fifty miles from the mouth of the river. It is 3200 í from Peking in lat. 32° 20′ 20′′ N. and long. 120° 07′ 34′′ E. Ouly a moiety of the inhabitants reside within the walls of the city, the suburbs and the waters around them supporting a large population. A portion of the space within the walls is divided off for the accommodation of the Mánchú garrison, which consists of 7000 troops. The governor- general of Chehkiáng and Fuhkien resides here, and also the go- vernor of the province, which, with their courts and troops, in addir tion to the great trade passing through it, render it one of the most important and richest cities in the empire. In its population, luxury,