Directory_and_Chronicle_1920 — Page 953

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WENCHOW

Wan-chau

Wêuchow, one of the five ports opened to foreign trade by the Chefoo Convention, is the chief town in the department of Wênchow, occupying the south-east corner of Chekiang province. The city is situated on the south bank of the river Ou about twenty miles from its mouth, in lat. 28 deg. 1 min. 30 sec. N., long. 120 deg. 38 min. 45 sec. E. The site is a well cultivated plain, bounded on all sides by lofty hills. The walls are said to have been first erected during the fourth century, and they have been enlarged and re-built at various times since. 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, generally speaking, well paved with brick or stone and kept in careful repair by the householders. Many of them run side by side with small waterways, which in their turn communicate with navigable canals intersecting the whole city. There are numerous, large nunneries and temples in Wênchow. The Customs-house, outside the North Gate, various Yamêns, other public offices and the Foundling Hospital, are also among the chief buildings. The last named institution, built in 1748, contains one hundred apartments. Among the objects of greatest interest and curiosity are two pagodas situated on Conquest Island, abreast of the city. They are both of great antiquity, and the temples between them were for some time the retreat of Ti Ping, the last Emperor of the Sung dynasty, when seeking to escape from the Mongols under Kublai Khan. His Majesty Ti Ping has left behind him autographs preserved to this day in one of the temples. Members of the Customs staff occupy foreign-built houses on the island. The estimated population of the city with its suburbs is 124,544. (figures furnished by District Magistrate). There were Boxer troubles in the Ping- yang district, several Christians being murdered, in 1900, and all the missionaries left Wênchow, where, however, the officials were able to maintain order. Roman Catholic Missionaries have a spacious and imposing church in the western part of the city. The English Methodist Mission has a church capable of seating about a thousand people. In 1903 this Mission erected a fine college at a cost of $20,000, con- taining sleeping accommodation for over a hundred students, and teaching accommoda- tion for more than two hundred. Early in 1906 an extensive and substantially constructed Hospital was also completed by the Mission at a further outlay of fully $20,000. The building consists of a central block and two wings, after the style of Hunt's Block, Guy's Hospital, and can accommodate about two hundred patients.

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There is no foreign settlement at Wênchow, and the foreign residents are a mere handful, consisting almost entirely of officials and missionaries. There is a considerable native export trade in tea, bitter oranges, tobacco, timber, charcoal, and bamboos, but manufactures do not flourish. The firms engaged in the timber trade are located in the west suburb, where are also the timber yards. Immense quantities of timber and bamboos arc kept on hand. The net value of the trade of the port coming under the cognizance of the Maritime Customs for 1918 was Hk. Tls. 3,396,761 as compared with Hk. Tls. 3,232,222 for 1917, Hk. Tls. 3,505,313 for 1916 and Hk. Tls. 3,396,988 for 1915.

During August and September of 1912 two abnormal freshets occurred in the Wênchow river, causing immense destruction to life and property. In the upper reaches of the main river the water rose 60 feet above norinal level, washing away villages and carrying away houses bodily. Some 30,000 people are reported to have been drowned in the Yungchia, Chingtien, Ch'uchow and Juian magistracies. Such a calamity was unprecedented within the memory of the oldest inhabitant.