Image provided by: University of Nebraska-Lincoln Libraries, Lincoln, NE
About Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922 | View Entire Issue (Feb. 16, 1902)
Hangchow," Great Silk Manufacturing City mi IN (Copyright, 1902. by Frank Q. Carpenter.) H IANOCHOW, Cbekiang, China. Jan. 16. (Special Correspondence of The Bee.) Have you ever hear of HangcbowT It la the capital of the allk prov ince of Cbekiang and the chief allk manufac Ing center of the great Chinese empire. It hat thousand of hand looms and tena of thousand of worker. It weave allk of all kind and It ha hundred of loom which are employed exclusively In making good for the Imperial household. Hangchow ha silk millionaire by the dosen. It 1 on of the richest cities of China and in proportion to It population I. ha more rich men than any other. It I on of the center or trade of the great Yangt valley and with the opening up of the country, now that the war 1 set tled, It will grow enormously In population and wealth. The city I already ;wlc as big a Cincinnati and larger than any elty In the United State except Philadelphia, New York and Chicago. Hangchow ha grown to this without good connection to the sea, without rail road and with only canal and the little River Chentang. It la now proposed to Join It to Shanghai and Boo Chow by rail and line will be extended to Nanking, Nlnpo and eventually south to Canton. The canals will probably be deepened and a ahlp canal may some time Join It to the sea. Foreign buildings ar already going up, although the city has only been opened to our trade for the last five years. The Japaneae unlocksd It gate to the world and It now ha a large foreign settlement extending a mil along the east bank of the Grand canal, about four mile from the city wail. Near tbla aettlement there la a big cotton mill filled with modern ma chinery and also a new ateam allk filature. Both ar owned and operated by Chine. Neat to llMTta 1st Beaaty. "Above la heaven, below are Hangchow and Boochow." This la an old aaylng of the Chinese. They think Hangchow and Boochow are the most beautiful cities outside of heaven. Hangchow ha been ao noted for age. It wa the capital of China durtng the Sung dynasty. Marco Polo, who visited It In the thirteenth century, called It the finest city of the world. It waa destroyed during the Talplng rebellion, but it ha been largely rebuilt and la still noted for lta beauty. It la on the edg of a great plain at the foot of rugged, low mountain, which tower high above It. There la a lak at the west atd the city stretches out on all aide over the plaln I write thla description on the mountain above It. There are temples to Confucius and Buddha all about me and I have climbed up here with the pilgrim who have come to worship la the temple In order to give you an Idea of Hangchow. I atand on a high precipice In front of a Buddhist temple overlooking the city. For miles In front and to my right and left I a vast expanse of low black-tiled ridge roofed houses, cut here and there by nar row streets, which ar marked out by the white building upon them. Beyond these I can see the great walls of the city Itself. They are as high a a tour-story house and s thick that you could drive three carriage eld by side upon them without crowding, and I am told they ar thirty mile long. Beyond these wall extend a vast plain, cut up by hundred of waterway, large and small. That wide band of silver which borders the wall I the famous Grand ca nal, the great artery of Chinee trade, which, beginning at Pekln, flow on eouth through the moat populou part of the empire and end here at Hangchow. Be V ' J iV I lor THE HOME OP A HANQCHOW MILLIONAIRE. the th;uaands of toats which are moving to and fro upon It. There are steam launches, great sailing Junks and smaller craft of all kind. That cana! Is the longest of the world. It Is older than Christian America and it haa even now a vast trade. Along It and over the plain, cut up by other canals, a crasy quilt of green, yellow and other colored crops baa been stretched and sewed together with those bands of silver water, while everywhere are the vast orchards of mulberry trees, which feed the tena of mil lions of silk worms for the satins, bro cade and alike which make Hangchow famous. tataa'a Mast Beaatlfal Lake. Turn around now and look at the lake on the western edge of the city. It is thirty miles In circumference and its diamond bright surface Is studded with emerald Islet. Some of the Islands have palaces on them, the homes of the princes and rich men of the city. The hill about the lake are covered with bamboos, plum and peach trees and the gardens are full of rose and honeysuckle. Hangchow extends bark from this lake, a vaet plain of one and two-etcry houses, with great buslneas streets stretching tor miles through the center. At the right there are two tail poles with what look like bird cages upon them rising high above the black roofs. That is the yamen where the governor lives, and where you will find aa many politician as about the White Hcuse In Washington. The big building a little further over I a Mohammedan temple and the tall tower away at the left above the lake is Hangchow's famous many-storied pagoda, which stands over a white snake, a human being who waa so changed a a punishment for hid sins. But let us go down and take a walk through the streets. The city Is full of business. There are mile of store and workshop. The people swarm, and men, women and children are all working. Every aide alley has He little manufacturing es tablishments. Her they are making furni ture, there they , are painting In lacquer, and farther on is a section where tinfoil is pounded out by the thousands of sheet. It is used a graveyard money, which the Chineae burn at the funeral to give the dead funds to establish themselves In ths world to hlch they are going. How fine the stores are I We walk down the main business street. It I four miles In length and It cut the city In halve. It r. - - W7- 1 - ' 'i-mM, - , ! i I I I ! i ! T I - -aw. , 1 MR. CARPENTER AND CONSUL GENERAL GOODNOW AT A RICH MAN'S GATE IN HANGCHOW. Is filled with a moving human atream from dawn until dark. How narrow it Is. It is not more than ten feet from one wall of chops to the other, and the signboards hang down so that we tear to bump our heads against them. There are so many signs that they obstruct the light and make the street too dark for me to take photographs. Even li It were light I could not get views. The throng is too thick and the movement too rapid. The only way that you could get a photograph here would be with a flashlight and a balloon. Bceaea aa tke Streets. And still the street is full of good pic tures. I stop In a store and take out my notebook and Jot down the strenge thing all about me. There are two Ch:neae greeting each o.her. Each Is shaking his own hands, putting ha fists together: 'neither man touches the other. Here come aome coolies carrying a great box fastened to the middle of a pole, which they rest on their shoulders. They grunt and cry out at every atep a they move onward, and both rich and poor get out of the way. By custom the man who carries the load I given the center of the street and the other must go to the wall. Thla 1 for two reasons; on 1 that (he Chinese nat urally respect labor and another la that their clothe may not be soiled against th burden so carried. Take, for instance, that man who la com ing down the street. He Is bar to th waist and he haa two bucket of the vlleat lop attached to th two end of a pole which rest on his shoulder. There la a framework of straw at the top of the liquid, but th stuff would splash out If he Jostled against you In paasing. Behind him are two coolie carrying a load of boards on their shoulders, and still further back are other men with baskets of greasy cooked ducks. There are coolies toting bales of cotton and allk, loada of pottery, and. In fact, all aorta of things used by th Chi nese. The dray horse bar 1 th coolie, and the coolie take th place of the wagon, aa well. Chlae Weata Oat Saoaplaa:. There are many women In th crowd mov ing past me. Some of them ar gorgeously dressed. They totter along on small feet, leaning on cane or aided, by servant. Her and there you see one sitting In th tore or on the steps, resting herself dur ing her shopping. I , i - '.ii , i n HANGCHOW'S MANY - But what is that procession which Is go ing by nowT It pushes everyone to the wall. First come men bearing great boards on which red characters are painted, and behind them boys In long gowns, with red ' conical hats. Some carry flags and others maces and dragons on pole. Some have red umbrellas and there are two Chi nese officials on horseback, and behind them a gorgeous Sedan chair. I look In at the window as the chair passes. It occupant is a woman, the wife of a Chinese general. She Is splendidly dressed and the red paint of her cheeks Is spread on in smears. Behind Is a rich Chinese merchant In allk, and with him ar two boy In specta cles, who are perhaps preparing for the examination which they will soon take at Pekln. Ia a Calaeee Silk Store. There are silk shops everywhere. Chil dren are weaving most beautiful ribbons and crepes, some of the finest of Chinese silks being made by boys and girls under IS years of age. Some of the stores which sell silk have factories connected with them and some of the silk establishments are very large. Hangchow has whole streets of silk shops, some of which sell hundreds of thousands of dollars' worth of goods every year. The shops are nothing like our dry goods store. There are no dreases dis played la th windows and no goods on the counters. The interior looks more like a muslo store than anything else. Its walls ar covered with pigeon holes, out of which long roll of cloth stick. To each roll Is attached a little strip of white muslin bear ing the price mark In Chinese. You ask for what you want and the goods are then brought forth and unrolled. Many of the silks ar sold by weight, at so much per pound. Later on I enter a silk factory. It Is on.t of the largest In the city, and there are about a hundred girls sitting on the floor pounding at the refuse or waste of raw silk. The girl look up as I com In, and when I point my camera their way they stampede; every yellow almond-eyed maiden Jumps up on her lltti feet and toddles away at full speed. They huddle together behind the partition at the back of the room, and I hear their voices Indignantly scolding, when my guide says: "Master, no takee picture here. China girl, he no llkee you take picture. He thlnkee you make die." Blscest Fa a Store of Asia. On of th largeat businesses of Hang thow Is making fans. They are produced by the million and ahlpped from here to all parts of China. Some of them are very valutile. costing $5 and upward. Some ar made of eagle'a feathers, others of silk with Ivory handles and many of paper, wood and other materials. The Chinese use more fans than any other nation. Both sexes carry them, and there are tans which are proper for men and other makes which ar only proper for women. One of the most popular gifts la an autograph fan. and poetry ' are common, such things are written in Chinese characters, and when produced by a scholar ar much desired. There ar folding fan and fan with maps of the various cities of China upon them. Some of China Y - ' 9 ) " fi 1 STORIED PAGODA. fans turn In at the ends. Some are round In shape and many are hand-painted and embroidered. One use of the fan Is to shade the eyes from the eun. The most fashionable gen tleman's cap has no brim and the man who has no fan cannot walk about without an umbrella. Many of the people go bare headed, and, as they are shaved to the crown, they must have something to pro tect them from the hot sun. In the shade the fan Is either carried In the hand or folded up and stuck in the back of the neck or sometimes In the top of the stock ing. Hangchow has the largest fan store of the world. It face the main street, and con sists of many rooms running around courts and covering a large space. In the front part of the establishment a dozen clerks are kept busy showing fans to would-be pur chasers. The other rooms are workshops, where Chineae men, women and children are making fans. In this store the busl neas 1 done In department, on set of men making the sticks, another painting the leaves and others making th nails which Join the sticks together. In most businesses on Chinese make th whole product, but the fan business her 1 or ganized Into many division. They Pal at aad Powder. Among th other queer shops of Hang chow ar those which sell perfumery and cosmetics. The Chinese women paint and powder more than their sister of the United Statea. The women cover their cheek with rouge. They shav their eye brow and pencil out new one after th most fashionable arch. They paint the lips red and paate the neck over with ghastly white. The painting 1 don by femalea of all ages, from little girls to old women. Other odd shops are the silversmiths, where most beaut. ful cupa, pitchers and other thing ar sold. Among the curious articles are silver shields to protect the long fingernails of fashionable women. Both sexes allow the nails to grow and I have seen men who could put the palm of one hand on their chin and scratch the back of the neck without moving it. Long nails, you know, ar th signs of a gentle man, tor no one who has nails two or three Inches long can possibly do monlal labor. I am surprised at the good order of the Interior Chinese cities. Th people are courteous and ery polite. In Hangchow I am treated everywhere with drfirence, and, though a crowd follows me whm I attempt to take pictures, no stoues are thrown, nor. aa far as I can learn, are any rude things said. We have cow grown accustomed to the Chinese, but twenty years ago a party of celestials In gowns would have been mobbed In many of our Interior towns, and the boys would probably have thrown atone at them. Certainly a Chinese woman dressed aa ah 1 at horn could not go about upon her small feet In our rltle to day without a crowd of boys at her heels. The street here are so crowded that It would be Impossible to do business if the people were not very good-natured. Very tew policemen are required. In the four- (Contlaued on Seventh Page.)