Directory_and_Chronicle_1880 — Page 309

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VVTETO'

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 Bobea 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 was any- thing 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 bas increased so largely that Foochow is now one of the principal tea ports in China.

The city is built around three hills, and the circuit of the walled portion is between six and seven miles in length. Toe 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 quarter 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 springs, 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 billy ground, opposite the island of Chung-chow. Communication is kept up between it and the city by means of a bridge.

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The climate of Foochow is rather warmer in summer and cooler in winter than that of Hongkong. Frost and ice are occasionally-but very seldom-met with here and it is recorded that in the month of February, 1864, some two inches of snow fell upon the surrounding hills. Such an occurrence had not been remembered for forty years before, and it certainly has not happened since.

The scenery surrounding Foochow is very beautiful. In sailing up the river from the sea, a distance of about seven or eight miles, 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 has a very striking appearance. The Pass of Min-ngin is still narrower, and with its towering cliffs, surmounted with fortifications and cultivated terraces, is very picturesque, and has been compared to some of the scenes on the Rhine.

Foreign vessels, with the exception of those of very light draught, are compelled to anchor at Pagoda Island, owing to the shallowness of the river, which has been increasing of late years, and the difficulties of navigation.

The trade of Foochow is mainly in Tea, the quantity exported in 1878 amounting to 678,624 piculs against 618,122 piculs in 1877. Of Opium, 4,096 piculs were imported in 1878 as against 3,165 piculs in 1877. The total revenue of the port for 1878 was Tls. 2,029,509; for 1877, it was Tls. 1.821,630. A small weekly paper called the Foochow Herald is published here. The population of Foochow is estimated at 600,000.

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