CANTON, China (more correctly Quang a large and important city on the Pearl River, at a distance of 80 miles from the sea. It is situated in the province of Quang tung (of which name Canton is a corruption), and consists of the city proper and of many suburbs, and its total population is estimated at from 1,250,000 to 1,800,000 with 500 foreign residents. The city proper is enclosed by walls, forming a circuit of six miles, and is divided into two parts by a partition wall running east and west; the portion north of this wall, which, is much the larger, being called the old, that on the south of it the new city. The walls mainly of brick, rise to the height of 25 feet, with a thick ness of about 20 feet. There are 12 gates, all of which are shut at night. The streets are long and straight and in general paved with flat stones, but they are very narrow, the average breadth not exceeding eight feet. The houses of the poorer classes are mere mud hovels; those of the shopkeeping class are com monly of two stories, the lower of which serves as the shop. The streets are to a great extent lined with these shops, in which are to be found the productions of all parts of the globe. Neat and gaudily painted signs and names give a gay appearance to the narrow streets; in most cases there are no windows in front, but the whole is thrown open by day and closed at night. Temples and other religious edifices are very numerous, but few of them are in any way remarkable. There are two lofty pagodas, forming a notable feature in any general view of the city. One of these, 170 feet high, is about 1,300 years old, the other, 160 feet high, about 1,000. Among the chief temples, which are far from attractive buildings, may be men tioned those of the Ocean Banner, of the Five Hundred Gods, of Longevity and of the Five Genii. Among other buildings may be men tioned the residences of the governor-general, the commander-in-chief, the treasurer, the pre fect, etc. There are four large prisons, one of them capable of holding 1,000 prisoners. In the European quarter are churches, schools and other buildings in the European style. Wheeled carriages are not in use in Canton; goods are transported on bamboo poles laid across the shoulders of men, while people who can afford it have themselves carried about in sedan-chairs. The river opposite the city for the space of four or five miles presents a most interesting scene. The prodigious number of boats with which it is crowded is the first thing that strikes the eye. A large number of these — as many, it is said, as .40,000, containing a population of 200,000— are fixed residences, and most of them moored stem and stern in rows. The inhabit ants are called tankia or boat-people, and form a class with many customs peculiar to them selves. Millions are born and live and die in these floating dwellings without ever having put foot on dry land; while their ancestors for generations were all amphibious like themselves.
The family boats are of various sizes, the bet ter sort being from 60 to 80 feet long, and about 15 feet wide. A superstructure of considerable height, and covered with an arched roof, occu pies nearly the whole of the interior of the boat. This structure is divided within into several apartments, devoted to different domestic pur poses, all of them being kept very clean. The smaller boats of this description are not above 25 feet long, and contain only one room. By far the handsomest boats are the hwa-ting or flower-boats, which are graceful in form and have their raised cabins and awnings fancifully carved and painted. These are let to pleasure parties for excursions on the river. The foreign mercantile houses and the American, British and French consulates have as their special quarter an area in the suburbs in the southwest of the city, with water on two sides of it. The river banks are faced with a granite wall; hand some bongs or factories have been built, and much money has been spent on improvements. The manufactures and other industries of Can ton are varied and important, embracing silk, cotton, porcelain, glass, paper, sugar, lacquered ware, ivory carving, metal goods, etc. Its foreign trade has been known for three cen turies throughout the world, and it was the chief foreign emporium in China until 1850, when Shanghai began to surpass it. Since then the opening of other ports and various other causes have interfered with its prosperity, but it still carries on a large traffic, its exports and imports together amounting in 1912 to about and its total trade to upwards of 70000,000. Business transactions between na tives and foreigners are transacted in a jargon known as °pidgin-English.° Since the estab lishment of the colony of Hongkong there has sprung up quite a flotilla of river steamers, which ply daily between Canton, Hongkong and Macao, and convey the greater part of the produce and merchandise for native and foreign consumption. These steamers equal the best river boats of Europe, and carry large numbers of passengers. The climate of Canton is healthy; in July and August the thermometer may rise to 100° F. in the shade, and during winter it is at times below freezing-point. Can ton was first visited by English vessels in 1634. From 1689 to 1834 the East India Company had a monopoly of the English trade. In 1839 war was declared by Great Britain against China, and Canton would have been occupied had it not been ransomed by the Chinese. In the war of 1856 the foreign factories were pillaged and destroyed, and about a year after this Canton was taken by an English force. From this time to 1861 it was jointly occupied by an English and French garrison. Since then it has been open to foreign trade. Of revolutionary move ments that have affected the political life of China Canton has been the centre.