Next in size is the Lung kiang, which flows by Changchau, and disembogues near Amoy after a course of two hundred miles. A large number of small islands lie on the coast of Fuhkien, the first of which, on the west, is Namoh or Nan-au, about thirteen miles long. Amoy and Quemoy are the largest islands of a group lying off the estuary of the Lung kiang. Chimmo Bay is north-east of Amoy, and is the entrance of the passage up to Chinchew, or Tsiuenchau fu, the Zayton[64] of Marco Polo, and still celebrated for the commercial enterprise of its inhabitants. Before the introduction of steamers into the coasting trade, the harbors and creeks along the provinces of Fuhkien and Kwangtung were infested with numerous fleets of pirates, which used to “sneak about like rats,” and prey upon the peaceful traders.
The grain raised in Fuhkien is hardly enough to support its population, especially on the sea-board, and large quantities of rice are brought from Siam, Formosa, and elsewhere. Black tea, camphor and other woods, sugar, chinaware, and grass-cloth, are the principal exports.
APPEARANCE OF FUHCHAU.
The city of Fuhchau (i.e., Happy City), or Hokchiu, as it is called by the inhabitants, lies in lat. 26° 5′ north, and long. 119° 20′ east, on the northern side of the Min, thirty-four miles from its mouth, and nine from Pagoda Island. The city lies in a plain, surrounded by hills, forming a natural and most magnificent amphitheatre of vast dimensions, whose fertility emulates and adds to its beauty. Suburbs extend from the walls three miles to the banks, and stretch along on both sides the stream. They are connected with each other, and a small islet in the river, by a stone bridge built in the eleventh century. The scenery is bold, and such parts of the surrounding hills as are not cultivated or used for graves, are covered with pines; some of the hills north of the city are three thousand feet high. Opposite Fuhchau the land is lower, and the suburb is built upon an island formed by the division of the main channel, seven miles above the city; the branches reunite at Pagoda Island. This island, and the plain on each side, forms a large basin, about twenty miles long by fifteen wide. The river is crowded with floating habitations, ferry-boats, and trading craft, rendering its surface an animated and noisy scene. The flowers grown in pots on the boats, and those usually worn by the boatwomen in their hair, all assist in imparting a pleasing aspect to the lively sight.
The city walls are about thirty feet high and twelve wide at the top. The gates, seven in number, are overlooked by high towers; smaller guard-houses stand upon the walls at short intervals, in which a few soldiers lodge, and where two or three cannon indicate their object. The city is divided into wards and neighborhoods, each of which is under its own police and headmen, who are responsible for the peace of their respective districts.
BUILDINGS AND TYPES OF INHABITANTS.
From the Wu-shih shan, an eminence on the south of the city, the view is extensive, and presents a great diversity of charming objects. The square battlements of the wall are seen extending in a devious and irregular circuit for more than eight miles, and inclosing most of the buildings, except on the south. On the south-east, a hill rises abruptly more than two hundred feet, its sides built up with interspersed dwellings; and another on the extreme north of the city, surmounted by a watch-tower, closes the prospect in that direction. Two pagodas within, and fantastic looking watch-towers upon the walls, large, regular-built granaries, and a vast number of flag-staffs in pairs indicating temples and offices, contribute to relieve the otherwise dull monotony, which is still further diversified by many large trees. Several lookout houses are placed over the streets, or upon the roofs of buildings, for the accommodation of watchmen, one of which immediately attracts the attention of the visitor, from its height, and its clock-dial with Roman letters. Few vacant spaces occur within the walls of the city, which is everywhere equally well built.
Serpentine canals divide the country round about into plats of greater or less extent, of every form and hue; while they help drain the city and provide channels for boats coming from the river. These parts of the landscape are dotted with hamlets and cottages, or, where the ground is higher, with graves and tombstones. To one seated on this eminence, the confused hum of mingling cries ascending from the town below,—the beating of gongs, crackling of fireworks, reports of guns, vociferous cries of hucksters and coolies, combining with the barking of dogs and other domestic sounds, as well as those from the crows, fish-hawks, and magpies nearer by,—inform him in the liveliest manner that the beautiful panorama he is looking down upon is filled with teeming multitudes in all the tide of life. On the western side of the city is a sheet of water, called Si Hu, or West Lake, with a series of unpretending buildings and temples lying along its margin, a bridge crossing its expanse, and fishing-nets and boats floating upon its bosom. The watch-tower, on the hill in the northern part of the city, is upon the wall, which here runs near a precipice two hundred feet high; it is a most conspicuous object when approaching the place.
The Manchus occupy the eastern side of the city, and number altogether about 8,000 persons; the natives generally are not allowed to enter their precincts. They live under their own officers, in much the same style as the Chinese, and, not having any regular occupation, give no little trouble to the provincial authorities. Though vastly larger than Ningpo, the number of temples and substantial private residences in Fuhchau is much less, and as a whole it is not so well built. The streets are full of abominations, for which the people seem to care very little. Before foreign trade attained importance, paper money used to be issued by native mercantile firms in the city, varying in denomination from forty cents to a thousand dollars, and supplying all the advantages with few of the dangers of bank notes. The blue, red, and black colors, which are blended on these promissory bills, present a gay appearance of signatures and endorsings. The name of the issuing house, and a number of characters traced around the page, in bright blue ink, form the original impression. The date of issue, and some ingeniously wrought cyphers, for the reception of signatures and prevention of forgeries, are of a deep red; while the entry of the sum, and names of the partners and receiver, stand forth in large black characters. On the back are the endorsements of various individuals, through whose hands the bill has passed, in order to facilitate the detection of forgeries, but not rendering the writer at all liable. These bills have now nearly disappeared, and bank bills from Hongkong are gradually coming into use. The streets usually are thronged with craftsmen and hucksters, in the fashion of Chinese towns, where the shopmen, in their desire to attract buyers, seem to imagine, that the more they get in their customers’ way, the more likely they are to sell them something. The shops are thrown open so widely, and display such a variety of articles, or expose the workmen so plainly, that the whole street seems to be rather the stalls of a market, or the aisle in a manufactory, than the town-thoroughfare.
The chief civil and military dignitaries of the province reside here, besides the prefect and the magistrates of Min and Haukwan districts. The Ching-hwang miao is one of the largest religious edifices in the place, and the temples of the goddess of Mercy, and god of War, the most frequented. The Kiu Sien shan, or ‘Hill of the Nine Genii,’ on the southern side of the town, is a pretty object. The city wall runs over it, and on its sides little houses are built upon rocky steps; numerous inscriptions are carved in the face of the rocks. Near the eastern gate, called Tang măn, or ‘Bath gate,’ is a small suburb, where Chinese and Manchus live together, and take care of many hot wells filled from springs near by; the populace resort hither in large crowds to wash and amuse themselves.