Chap. II. 



THE CITY AND SUBURBS. 



35 



ment, as well as of many of the great merchants. It 

 has been remarked not unfrequently, when compar- 

 ing the towns of Shanghae and Ning-po, that the 

 former is a trading place, and the latter a place of 

 great wealth. Hang-chow-foo has both these advan- 

 tages combined. Besides, it is a fashionable place, 

 and is to the province of Chekiang what Soo-chow-foo 

 is to Kiang-nan. Du Halde quotes an old proverb 

 which significantly says that " Paradise is above, but 

 below are Soo-chow and Hang-chow." 



The walls of this terrestrial paradise are said to 

 be forty le in circumference, that is, about eight 

 English miles. Although there are a great many 

 gardens and open spaces inside, yet the extent of the 

 city is very great, and in many parts the population 

 is most dense. The suburbs also are very extensive, 

 and must contain a very large population. Sir 

 George Staunton supposed that the population of the 

 city and suburbs was equal to that of Peking, and 

 Du Halde estimates it at a million of souls. 



The houses bear a striking resemblance to those 

 of Ning-po, Soo-chow, and other northern towns. 

 Were I set down blindfolded in the main street of 

 one of these Chinese towns, even in one which I 

 knew well, and the bandage removed from my eyes, 

 I should have great difficulty in saying where I was. 

 There are doubtless distinctions with which the 

 "barbarian" eye is unacquainted, but which would 

 be plain enough to a Chinese. 



I observed in many parts of the city triumphal 

 arches, monuments to great men, and gorgeous-look- 



d 2 



