The Sun.
London, England, 1842-11-30 00:00:00

CENTRAL PROVINCES.
TOTAL POPULATION, 23,037,171.
The province of Ho:416111es E. and S.E. with Nankin,
N. and N.B. with Pekin and some parts of Chan-tong, and
S.S.W. with Hou-pe ; W. it borders on the province of
Sze-chuen and with the remaining part of Chen-si.
Ho-gran contains 8 great cities, and 100 small cities,
besides forts and castles. The population, according to
the toll-book of the limperdr, amounts to 589,296 families,
and 516,270 fighting meii. The income of the revonue
amounts yearly to 2,414,470 hags of rice, 23,5091bs of
unwrought linen, 9,9591b5. of several sorts of silk ;
3411b5. of cottons, which are very scarce in this coun-
try ; an 2 lastly of 2,280,844 trusses of hay for the
stables. Ho-nan produces also fine copper. Kite-
fung-foo, the capital of this province, is situated on the
south bank of the Yellow River, and upon ground which
is lower than the water, especially when it is flooded.
In consequence of this, it has strong dykes around it,
by which the flood is restrained.. The main bulwark
against the river is a strong embankment of nearly
100 miles in length. In any other country this dyke
would be looked upon as a stupendous work of art.
When the city was besieged by rehel3 in 1641, the
Commander of the Imperial Army sent to relieve it,
ordered a breach to be made i❑ the dyke for the pur-
pose of drowning the besiCgers. The breach was made,
and the 100,000 besiegers destroyed; but the flood came
down in desolation nporeihe city, demolished it, and
drowned 300,000 of those within the walls. As it is a
point of conveyance for several of the lines of road
that intersect the country, the ,city was rebuilt, but on
an inferior scale, and it will probably never attain its
former magnitude and .spleaclour. Ho-nan-foo is situated
westward of Kae-fung-foo, and on the same side of the
river, among craggy mountains.

T°l ON: P
T 27,370,098.
This- procinOcTeA,l'toPg7Ptir.her U
with Ho-nan, which lies im-
mediately south of it, are two" divisions into which the
ancient province of Hoo.kwang has
.been arranged, in
consequence of its great extent and numerous population.
The inhabitants of HOu-pe are estimated at 27 millions,
though the province is not a very extensive one. It has
Sze-chuen on the W., tliien-si on the N.W., Ngan-hoe
on the E., Keang-se on the Ho-nan on the S.
It is situated in the valley of the Blue River, but chiefly
on the north side of it, and the Han-keang, one of the
principal branches of the Blue River, and itself a river of
no mean magnitude, enters it near the N.W., and joins
the Blue River towards the east of the province. The
central part of the province is low, and abounds with
lakes. In consequence of the magnitude of the Blue
River, and of the number of streams, lakes, and artificial
water-conveyances, this province, the most central
in the whole of China Proper, has even greater
advantage than if one side of it were washed by the sea.
Woo-Chang-foo, the capital. which is situated on the
Blue River, near the corfluence of Han-kiting, is a great
resort for Chinese merchants, and from the vast number
of vessels which frequent its harbour, it has much the
appearance of a sea-port. These vessels, though inferior
in size, and not fitted for so long voyages; are sometimes
even more numerous than those in the Thames at Lon-
don ; for the ricer is wider than the Thames, and six
miles in length of it are sometimes entirely covered with
vessels. To possess a port, even for domestic trade,
almost in the very centre of its land, is an incalculable
advantage; and it is an advantage which scarcely any
country but China possesses. Taking the windings of
the river, the port is between 500 and GOO miles inland,
and, therefore, is completely out of the reach of any in-
vading fleet; if the conductors of which were, as they
would be, ignorant of the shoals and other dangers of the
navigation.

TOTAL POPULATION, 18,652,517.

This. province, which is rather larger than llou-pe, is
the southern division of the old province. Its bounda-
ries are summit-levels all the way round, except toward
the N.E., where the large lake Tung-ting ho empties its
waters into the Blue River, at a point where that stream
takes an extensive curve to the south. All the rivers
which water the province, flow into this lake ; vast
quantities of rice grow on the low grounds, and cotton
on those that are- more elevated. The mountains, like
Almost every mountain-ridge in China, are rich in mine-
rals. Chang-chow7foo, the capital, is situated on the
bank of one of the rivers which empty themselvesinto
the lake,- but it is not a city of first-rate importance.

ITT. ZIA.NG-91.
TOTAL POPULATION, 30,426,999.

This province lies eastward of Hoo-nan ; its extent is
estimated at 27,090 square miles, and its population a:
more than 30,000,000. The soil is in general clayey and
of a rich alluvial character near thePo-yaeg Lake, though
the immediate banks of this great and stormy piece os
water are muddy and sterile to a great extent. The
centre of the province is watered by the main stream of
the Kan-keang, which must not be confounded with the
river of the same name in Hou-pe. The great road
-from Canton passes along the bank of this river, the na-
Vigatifm of which, as soon as it begins to be available, is
employed for the conveyance of merchandise, which is
borne thence down -the Blue River, and so by the Impe-
-1741 Canal, to the navigation of the rivers in Pe-tche-le,
along which it is borne to Pekin.
This navigation is interrup,Wl by IL:portage between
the Canton rivers, and the tn-aMstreatn of this province;
' but excepting this, there is water-carriage across,;the
whole enipire from S. to N. Nan-chars;-fors, the capitid,
is situated on the river, andislwtot Znly an entrepot in
the carrying, but a place of greatidomestic commerce.
None of the produce of the soil; excepting rice, is ex-,
ported, the people finding entire Subsistence on what the
province furnishes. The village 6f King-te-chidg, to the
eastward of the.l)o4,ang lake, Aind on a navigable river
which emptie*its waters into tljat lake, is the. principal
seat of poreetin manuracturo An the province ; though
only a village in point of rank, ittls a great city in 04:41-1.
lation. By means of the rivers ;and lake this orAdlei
coast,n
ten, or south-eastward by tic
liwpnarthtse ofß RilterriGtr(')
commodities can be conveyedto the
Noraintkmin7soaybuetisemnatrdtototiga
road or portage to Fon-chow foo in Fuh-kien.

THE FIVE.-PORTS.
SHANG -HAE (or CHANG-HAT),' FOC-CHOW-
FOO, CANTON, AMOY, AND NINGPO.

The magnificent prospects opened up to British enter-
prise and commerce, by throwing open these five great
ports, will. be understood 1)), the general reaeee in
clearer point of view, from the following detailed account
of each, drawn up from authentic sources :