Directory_and_Chronicle_1877 — Page 818

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CHINA AND ITS OPEN PORTS.

leads up to the inner harbour, which is about seven miles long and three miles across in its widest part. The soil of the country around Takow is extremely fertile; banyans and bamboos grow luxuriantly there, and sugar plantations are numerous.

Sugar is the principal article of export from Takow, and in 1875 it amounted to 481,943 piculs. The import of Opium in 1875 amounted to 2,600 piculs, as against 2,503 piculs in 1874. The total revenue of the port in 1875 was Tls. 124,021, in 1874 it was Tls. 139,110. The population of Takow is estimated at 6,000.

The city of Taiwan-fu lies about twenty miles from Takow in lat. 28 deg. 6 min. N., and long. 129 deg. 5 min. E. It is a place of considerable size and importance. It is situated about three miles from the coast, with which connection is kept up by means of canals. The walls of the city are some five miles in circumference, and enclose many buildings and places of interest Among these is an Examination Hall for the Chinese literati, capable of accommodating several thousand students. There are a great many trees and open spaces in the city, which give it rather a pleasant appearance. In the locality are the ruins of Zealandia, a fort which was built in 1630, and which was for many years the stronghold of the Dutch in Formosa. The Customs give no returns of trade here. The port is an open shallow roadstead, and vessels have to anchor at some distance from the shore. The population of Taiwan-fu is estimated at 189,000.

Te port of Tamsui is in lat. 25 deg. 10 min. N., and long. 101 deg. 26 min. E., on the northern sile of Formosa. It is an uninteresting place. The trade at Tamsui is not extensive. Tea grows on the hills in the locality, but the quality is inferior. Camphor is manufactured here and elsewhere in Formosa, the tree from which it is male being very common on the island. The principal exports in 1875 were as follows:-Tea, 41,573 piculs; Camphor, 7,139 piculs (a decrease on former years); Coal, 27,665 tons. The import of Opium in 1875 was 1,559 piculs, and in 1874, 1,666 piculs. The total revenue of the port in 1875 was Tls. 152,909, and in 1874, Tls. 126,340. The population is estimated at 50,000.

FOOCHOW.

Foochow (or Fuh-chau-fu) is the capital of the Fohkien province. It is situated in lat. 26 deg. 02 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 Bohea 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 Treaty of Nanking in 1842. The early years of intercourse with the natives was 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 since then the quantity shipped has been considerable.

The city is built around three hill, 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 are narrow and filthy, but the number of trees about the official quarters of the city, and the wooded hills enclosed by the walls, give a picturesque appearance to the general view. Near the east gate of the city are several hot spings, which, like those in Japan, are used by the natives for the cure of skin diseases, and are believed to be very efficacious. The Foochow dealers excel in the manufacture of miniature monuments, pagodas, dishes, &c., from what is called "soap stone," and in the construction of artificial flowers, curious figures of birds, &c. The foreign settlement is situated on the south side of the Min, on hilly