NINGPO
波辑 Ning-po
Ningpo is situated on the river Yung, in the province of Chekiang, in lat. 29 deg. 55 min. N., and long. 121 deg. 22 min. E. It was one of the five ports thrown open to foreigners in 1842. Foreigners had, however, visited Ningpo at an early date. Portuguese traded there in 1522; a number of them settled in the place in that and succeeding years, and there was every prospect of a rising and successful settlement soon being established. But the lawless acts of the Portuguese soon attracted the attention of the Government, and in 1542 the Governor of Chekiang ordered the settlement to be destroyed and the population to be exterminated. A large force of Chinese troops soon besieged the place, destroying it entirely, and out of a population of 1,200 Portuguese, 800 were massacred. "No further attempt at trade with this port was made till towards the close of the 17th century, when the East India Company established a factory at the island of Chusan, some forty miles from Ningpo. The attempt to found a trade mart there, however, proved unsatisfactory, and the factory was abandoned after a few years' trial. The port was deserted by foreigners for many years after that. When hostilities broke out between Great Britain and China in 1839, the fleet moved north from Canton, and on the 13th October, 1841, occupied Ningpo, and an English garrison was stationed there for some time. In March, 1842, an attempt was made by the Chinese to retake the city, but the British artillery repulsed then with great slaughter. Ningpo was evacuated on May 7th, and, on the proclamation of peace in the following August, the port was thrown open to foreign trade,
Ningpo is built on a plain which stretches away to a considerable distance on either side. It is a walled city, the walls enclosing a space of some five miles in cir- cumference. The walls are built of brick, and are about twenty-five feet high. They are fifteen feet wide at the summit, and twenty-two at the base. Access is obtained to the town by six gates. A large moat commences at the north gate and runs along the foot of the wall for about three miles on the landward side, until it stops at what is called the Bridge Gate. The main street runs from east to west. Several of the streets are spanned by arches erected in memory of distinguished natives. Ningpo has been celebrated as possessing the fourth library of Chinese works, in point of numbers, which existed in the empire. It was owned by a family who resided near the south gate. The site occupied by the foreign residences is on the north bank of the river. The population of Ningpo is estimated at 255,000. The French opened a post office in
1905.
Two cotton mills are established in Niugpo, one of which started in 1896 and the other in 1907. Cotton yarn spun by these mills now ranks third in value among the articles of export of the port. The tea trade has fallen off owing to a deviation of the Fychow teas which formerly passed through Ningpo but are now forwarded to Shanghai vin Hangchow. In 1910 the export amounted to 14,750,000 lbs., showing an increase over the figures for 1909. The net value of the trade of the port was Tls. 23,591,065 in 1910 as against Tls. 22,294,198 in 1909, Tls. 26,995,000 in 1908, and Tls. 24,860,000 in 1907.
古太 Tuikoo
BUTTERFIELD & SWIRE
J. Robertson, signs per pro.
Agencies
DIRECTORY
China Navigation Company, Ld.
Ocean Steamship Company, Ld.
China Mutual Steam Nav. Co., Ld.
Taikoo Sugar Refining Company, Ld.
Taikoo Dockyard & Engineering Co. of
Hongkong, Ld.
Leeds Forge Co., Leeds
Royal Exchange Assurance Corpn. London and Lancashire Fire Insce. Co. Palatine Insurance Company, Ld. Guardian Assurance Co., Ld.'
Union Insce. Society of Canton, Ld. Sea Insurance Co., Ld.
局甬商招 Chau Shang Yung-chu
CHINA MERCHANTS' STEAM NAVIGATION Co,
Koo Yuen Seng, manager
Li Ching-ling
Agency
China Merchants' Marine Insurance Co
CHRIST CHURCH, Ningpo
Bishop-Rt. Rev. H. J Molony, D.D. Chaplain C. M. S. Missionary in
Ningpo
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