258 



THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC .MAGAZINE 



SUNSET FROM THE BUND, THE WATERFRONT IN DAITOTEI, THE CHINESE SECTION 

 OF TAIHOKU, CAPITAL OF FORMOSA 



At sunset dusky ghosts of sampans, laden with families living up the river, glide home- 

 ward against a jonquil sky. Taihoku, a city the size of Lowell, Mass., is situated 20 miles 

 southeast of the port of Tamsui, at the mouth of the Tamsui River, and 18 miles southwest 

 of Kelung, the seaport possessing the hest harhor of the island (see map, page 262J. 



city, remain, looking as out of place in 

 their rejuvenated setting as the Egyptian 

 obelisk in Central Park. 



I found more of the quality I had 

 looked for in Daitotei, the Chinese sec- 

 tion of Taihoku; but even Daitotei was 

 unnaturally clean for a Chinese city. 



The Japanese insist upon two official 

 house-cleanings a year, and as they are 

 executed under a policeman's vigilant eye, 



you may be sure that there is nothing 

 slipshod in the undertaking. All a man's 

 chattels, his Lares and Penates, his wives 

 and children (I say wives advisedly, for 

 if a Chinaman can afford it you can count 

 on his having more than one), even to his 

 cherished opium pipe, all are heaped un- 

 ceremoniously in front of his dwelling, 

 and the work of scouring begins. 



Everything he owns is washed, within 



