The Houston daily post. [volume] (Houston, Tex.) 1886-1903, 1902-02-16
!. ..o, br Erank G. carpenter.l

ever heard of Hangchow
pD' eaoital of the silk province of
= and the chief silk manufacture
n, If the great Chinese empire. II
.,,rds of hand looms and tens of
~ workers. 1t weaves silks of
and II has hundreds of looms
:, employed exclusively in making
!, or the imperial household
.clrY OF MILL1oNAIREs.
show has silk millionaires by the
!, i one of the richest cities of
and in proportion to its population
o,, rich men than any other. 1t i.
n. eenters of trade of the great
y. valley and with the opening up of
,,,ry now that the war is settled, it
LAM enormously in population and
X The city is already twice as big
r..einuati and larger than any city in
i'rilsd States except Philadelphia, New
a rk anu N"tSNbr'
r.ay,how has grown to this size with
IN connection with the sea, without
s,l. and with only canals and the lit
mr. Cbentang. 1t is now proposed to
10 Shanghai and Soochow by rail,
lines will be extended to Marking,
= and eventually south to Canton. The
"a, will probably he decpened and ship
a NAV sometime join it to the sea.
,,ian buildings are already going up, al
IN the city has only been opened to
ir,de for the last five years. The Jap
- unlocked its gates to the world and
,,v has large foreign settlement ex-
,.snr mile along the east bank of the
a,d canal about four miles from the city
"a, Near this settlement there is big
s-su mill filled with modern machinery
also new steam silk filature. Both
i ogned and operated by Chinese.
NEXT TO HEAVEN IN BEAUTY.
! Above is Heaven, below arc Hangchow
4 y Scochow.'
his is an old saying of the Chinese.
h. think Hanechow and Soochow are the
n beautiful cities outside heaven. Hang
~ has been so notcd for ages. 1t was
capital Of China during the Sung dy-
at Marco Polo, who visited it in the
rssnh century, called it the finest city
d. world, Il was destroyed during the
bling rebellion, but it has been largely
s1l. and is still noted for its beauty. 1t
i 70 the edge OF a great plain at the foot
Hgsed, low mountains, which tower high
Rit There is lake at the west, and
city stretches out on all sides over the
10, write this description on the noun
ia sboye it There are temples to Con-
sis and Buddha all about me and | have
nbsd up here with the pilgrims who have
be to worship in the temples in order to
you an idea Of Hangchow.
Island on,a high precipice in front of
'Eihist temple overlooking the city. For
lis in front and to my right and left is
as sxpanse Of low, black, tiled, ridge
haisd houses, cut here and there by mar
y streets which are marked out by the
~, buildings upon them Beyond these
sin see the great walls of the city itself.
by are 6s}higifwss a four story house
p thick that you could drive three
rages side by side upon them without
r.Sdiug, and am told they are thirty
sis long.
THE GRAND CANAL.
Bgond these walls extends vast plain
& Up by hundreds waterways, large
% snail That wide band of silver which
sades the walls is the famous Grand ca
The great artery of Chinese trade.
lna' beginning at Picking flows on south
e'Sa the most populous parts of the
apie and ends here at Hangchow. See
Z thousands OF boats which are moving to
10 upon it. There are steam launches.
~ sailing Iunks and smaller craft of all
" mat canal is the longest in the
'aa It is older than Christian America
w mas even now vast trade. Along it
.Wl tne plain, cut up by other canals,
Say quilt of green, yellow and other
1Asu crops has been stretched and sewed
'ss'na with those bands of silver water.
'I' everywhere are the vast orchards of
19e'iy trees, which feed the tens of mil
~ ~ SILK worms for the satins, brocades
alkS which make Hangchow famous.
'ulSAS MOST BEAUTIFUL LAKE.
iHn around now and look at the lake on
NJ ''''eIn edge Of the city. 1t is thirty
In. circumference and its diamond
VI surface is studded with emerald
come OF the islands have palaces on
!. - 'ae homes of the princes and rich
y NE city. The hills about the lake
u ~Y'iea with bamboos, plums and peach
sgsuckIes. i''' VI '0''S a'u
y, s.noW extends back from this lake,
IA pam OF one and two-story houses,
H., ts' business streets stretching for
H., I'ough the center. At the right
n .' TWO tall poles with what look like
II, ~ upon them rising high above the
|,v.,.o0i,:' That is the yamen where the
~4'l llves aud where you will find as
Il E, st,'ueians as about the White House
|hrl,, s'cn' The big building a little
1, m V.er Is Mohammedan temple and
IS, .1~er away at the left above the
|haS, nangehow's famous many-storied
|iso~..S winch stands over a white snake,
|~ss.l being who was so changed as a
~''aasnt for his sins
!. AMONG THE WORKSHOPS.
tD,st' Z. us 60 down and take a walk
NM. ~s streets. The city is full of
|,sts,, mere are miles of stores and
|ss,n y; The people swarm, and men,
Y ,ns u children are all working. Every
|sEbr,.. uas ITS little manufacturing es-
he ~ here they are making furni-
Il b,,h' tney are painting in lacquer,
|pea.S = On IS a section where tinfoil is
M n by the thousands of sheets.
:h,,, = graveyard money. which the
~ sAI0 az III i IL