CANTON

From Agepedia

CANTON, principal city of the Chinese province of the same name, otherwise called Quangtong, or Koanton, is situated in 23° 30' N. lat., and 113° 2' 45" E. Ion., on the banks of the river Taho, which is aere very wide. This city, distinguished for size, wealth, and a numerous population, is the only seaport in China open to the ships of Europe and America. The estimate of missionaries, that it contains i,uw,ww ui miiciuiuuiis, is eAaggeraieu. The number is probably nearer 750,000. The circuit of the walls, which are of a moderate height, is over 9 miles. Only about a third part, however, of the space enclosed is covered with buildings; the rest is occupied with pleasuregardens and fishponds. The neighboring country is very charming, hilly towards the east, and presenting, in that quarter, a beautiful prospect. The houses are mostly of one story; but those of the mandarins and principal merchants are high and well built. In every quarter of the town and the suburbs are seen temples and pagodas, containing the images of Chinese gods. The populous streets are long and narrow, paved with flat stones, and adorned at intervals with triumphal arches. Shops line the sides, and an unbroken range of piazza protects the occupants of the houses, as well as footpassengers, from the rays of the sun. At night, the gates are closed, and bars are thrown across the entrances of the streets. The traders express themselves with sufficient fluency in the languages of their European and American customers, with whom they deal almost exclusively, selling them porcelain, lackered wares, &c. The Americans trade here to a greater extent than any other nation: next to them come the English. The greatest part of the silver, which is carried from America to Europe, eventually circulates through China, by means of the ports of Canton and Batavia, to which large supplies of the productions of the empire are transmitted. The principal articles of export are tea, India ink, varnish, porcelain, rhubarb, silk and nankeen. A company, consisting of 12 or 13 merchants, called the Cohong, is established here, by order of the government, for the purpose of purchasing the cargoes of foreign ships, and supplying them with return cargoes of tea, raw silk, &c. This society interferes, undoubtedly, with private trade, but adds greatly to the security of the foreign dealer, as each member is answerable for all the rest. Carriages are not used here, but all burdens are transported on bamboo poles laid across the shoulders of men. All the inhabitants of distinction make use of litters. Chinese women are never seen in the streets, and Tartar women but seldom. The European factories, to wit, the Dutch, French, Swedish, Danish and English, are situated on a very commodious quay, on the bank of the river. Nearly a league from Canton is the Boattoivn, which consists of about 40,000 barks, of various kinds, arranged close to each other in regular rows, with passages between them, to allow other vessels to pass. In this manner they form a kind of floating city, the inhabitants of which have no other dwellings, and are prohibited by law from settling on shore. As this is the only emporium in the empire for foreign commerce, which is carried on not only by Europeans and Americans, but also to a great extent by the Chinese themselves, with almost all the ports of India and the eastern Archipelago, the number of vessels frequently seen in the river, at once, is said to exceed 5000. An American paper, issued twice a month, called the Canton Register, has lately been established at Canton. The following table gives the amount of imports from Canton into the ports of the U. States, also the exports of domestic and foreign goods from the U. States to Canton, from 1821 to 1827. Year. Imports. Bom. Exp. For. Exp. 1821 $3,111,951 $388,535 $3,902,025 1822 5,242,536 429,230 5,506,138 1823 6,511,425 288,375 4,347,686 1824 5,618,502 330,466 4,970,705 1825 7,573,115 160,059 5,410,456 1826 7,422,186 242,451 2,324,193 1827 3,617,183 290,862 3,573,543 The climate of Canton is healthy, warm in summer, but pretty cold in winter. Provisions, including various luxuries, are abundant.