The Redwood gazette. [volume] (Redwood Falls, Minn.) 1873-1940, 1880-09-02
Sightseeing In . Chinese Town.

Sightseeing In . Chinese Town.
ON arriving at the wall of the city,
which was built of the customary ma
terial, mud mixed with lime, which
finally forms q sort of concrete, we
entered the gates, and found the usual
narrow streets peculiar to every Chi
nese city.
The shops on both sides were numer-
Gus, and from their thriving appearance
apparently did a good business.
Chinese ware, dress goods, boots.
foreign cloth, grain, millet. buckwheat,
sesamum seed, edible roots, carrots,
turnips, radishes, water lily roots, fruit
and walnuts were for sale in the market.
We entered some of the shops where
American and English goods were on
sale, and asked to see the proprietor:
We questioned him IS to the demand
for articles of foreign manufacture. He
said that he bought the yangpoo (foreign
cloth) at Hankow, from Chinese Hong,
and it cost him, with freight, four taels.
or $50 per piece, the cost at Hankow
being $3. 20 per piece. He complained
bitterly of the exactions that the Of
fcials laid upon these goods at the
various tax-stations on the Han River.
The high price thus placed them beyond
the reach of any but the rich. The
country people liked the American
drilling best. as it was strong and did
not contain any rice-water, like the
English article. The junk people used
it for sails. We saw several pieces oil
Wamsutta and other Eastern goods in
the shops. Matches of German and
Swedish make were also sold for forty
cash Qour cents) a box of 100. The
Chinese in the country districts, when
buying box of matches, invariably
count every match before paying fol
few penknives, common and toilet
soap, and several photographs of Paris
were also in the shop. A large but
very civil crowd gathered around us
and followed us wherever we went. No
indignities were offered to us except
from the juvenile population, who, as
usual were eager to annoy the foreigner.
The elders. who were as anxious to see
us as the children, often rebuked them,
but without effect. One of our soldiers,
a Human man, at last caught a boy who
was about to throw some mud at us, and
twisting the urchin's tail around his
arm gave him a sound thrashing, and
warned him that if he was not quiet the
Taotai would cut off his head.
Walking round the streets of small
city in China one sees a number of agri-
cultural people, who come to town to
sell their produce and buy articles re-
quired for household use. The various
trades were represented in the small
shops. Blacksmiths, coppersmiths and
tinsmiths were working in such posi-
tions as were likely to attract custom
ers. The iron used is the product of
the adjoining provinces of Szechuen
and Human, in small bars about eigh-
teen inches in length. The steel is
chiefly of native origin, and is said to
be equal to Swedish. The copper used
for making kettles, pots and pans is
also Szechuen and Yunnan product.
Immense deposits of the metal exist in
the Yunnan province. and the annual
tribute to Peking from Yunnan consists
entirely of copper slabs. while the 9TH
er provinces pay in either silver or
grain. The tin plates are of English
manufacture, but large quantity of
old kerosene cans are used up by these
workers in tin. Cosmetics aud other
toilet articles are exhibited for the ben
eft OF the fair sex. Book stores abound,
as they do in every little village. and
contain writing materials, pens from
Canton, Soochow and Hankow, ink
from Nganwhei (the best in the En-
pire). Fortune-tellers and quack den
lists have their stalls in the streets.
Tea shops, which fill the place of
restaurants. are to be seen in every
block. They are peculiar in one re-
spect-disputes of all kinds are settled
over cup Of tea Bargains . are eli9 .le
children transferred in the tea shop.
AT intervals banks may be seen which
a stranger might mistake for ordinary
dwellings. Inside is adirty little room,
with a counter running twenty feet
into the rear; number of bookkeepers,
the click of balls on the atacus board;
and hush! we surely hear the chink of
dollars in the back apartment. This is
Chinese bank, owned by Shansi men,
whose financial operations extend all
over the empire. Bank notes from 100
TO 1000 copper cash are in vogue,
issued by these enterprising men. The
Governor of the various provinces re-
luiring an advance invariably applies
20 these bankers, who dare not refuse
he demand, as otherwise they would
DC subject to the rapacious extortions
II the Mar hangers-on of the manda-
'iIss.-C0r. San Francisco Chronicle.