Directory_and_Chronicle_1889 — Page 433

WENCHOW.

Wên-chow-fu, one of the five ports opened to foreign trade by the Chefoo Convention, is the chief town in the department of the same name occupying the south-east corner of Che-kiang province. The city is situated on the south bank of the river Ou-kiang, about twenty miles from its mouth, in lat. 27 deg. 18 min. 4 sec. N., long. 120 deg. 38 min. 28 sec. E. The site is a well cultivated plain, bounded on all sides, but at a distance of some five miles, by lofty hills. The walls are said to have been first erected during the fourth century, and enlarged and re-built by the Emperor Hung-Wu in 1385. They are formed of stone, diagonally laid at the foundation, and partly also of brick, and measure about four miles in circumference. The streets are wider, straighter, and cleaner than those of most Chinese cities. They are well paved with brick and kept in careful and constant repair by the householders. They slope down on either side to waterways, which in their turn communicate with canals permeating the whole city. There are numerous large nunneries and temples in Wen-chow. The Custom-house, outside the chief gate, known as the Shwang Mên or "Double Gate," the Taotai's Yamên, the Prefect's and other public offices in a cluster, and the Founding Hospital, all near the centre, are the other chief buildings. The latter institution, built in 1748. contains one hundred apartments. It is supported by the interest of invested subscriptions and the rental of alluvial lands presented to it by the Government. There is also a Beggar's Asylum outside the south-west gate. It was built during the 14th century, and is supported by the State. The monthly allowance for each recipient is one tael and a half, but it is reported that few avail themselves of the charity. Among the objects of greatest interest and curiosity to the stranger are two pagodas situated on Conquest" Island abreast of the city. They are both of great antiquity and, with the houses close by, were some time the retreat of Ti Ping, the last Emperor of the Sung dynasty, when seeking to escape from the Mongols under Kublai Khan. The British Consul and the Customs tide- waiters occupy apartments on the island used by His Majesty, who has left behind him autographs preserved to this day in the adjoining temple. The estimated

population of the city is from +0,000 to 100.000.

Wênchow was formerly a great seat of the tea trade, and pr. visits to 1861 was, o it is said by some, the only port in the department from which tea was allowed to be exported. The city was then in a flourishing condition. But in order to prevent the teas from falling into the hands of the Tai-p'ing rebels, who overran the whole district during that year, this regulation was exchanged for one which authorized the export of tea at any of the Customs stations along the coast; consequently the trade soon gra- vitated to Foochow in the south and to Ningpo in the north. It was thought that on the conversion of Wênchow into a treaty port it would speedily recover its old position as a tea exporting place, but this has not proved to be the case, although it is estimated that tea could be put on the Wenchow market for $2 per picul less than at Foochow, owing to the higher cost of transport to the latter ort. At present there is no foreign settlement, and the foreign residents are a mere handful, consisting almost entirely of officials and missionaries. A large quantity of native opium is produced in the vicinity of Wenchow. There is a considerable native export trade in Wood and bamboos, brought down the river in rafts from Ch'u-chow. The annual value of this trade is estimated to be not less than $2,000,000. The shops and yards engaged in it are situated in the west suburb, where immense quantities of balonos and poles are kept on hand. Wenchow is also celebrated for its bitter oranges. The net value of the foreign imports for the y ar 1887 was Tls. 353,831 as against Tls. 368,238 in 1886. The export of Tea in 1887 was 3,184 piculs, as compared with 2,619 piculs in 1886. The value of the whole trade of the port for 1887 was Tls. 592,931, compared with Tls. 576,932 in 1886.

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