Whoever looks to-duy upon Shanghai with its wharves, warehouses, docks, engineering establishments, ship-yards and shipping, will find it dificult to form in imagination a picture of the port as it appeared fifty years ago. There was then neither foreign Settlement nor shipping. The frontage of what is now the French
ings, and pending the erection of European houses, all foreigners resided and transacted business there. Below the Yang-Concession was covered with Chinese build-king-pang was open country dotted with copses of bamboo, farm-houses, and grave mounds, the like of which may now be seen anywhere beyond Tunkadoo or Farnham's Lower Dock. The bank of the river, surmounted by a tow-path, extended along the centre of what is now the Bund, and continuing along Broadway very nearly to the Hongkew Church it curved outward to a rounded point a little above the Old Dock. On the Pootung side it was several hundred feet back of its present position; the Soochow Creek was a good-sized river; and the "'chow-chow" water was most violent opposite to a ditch bordered with willow trees, where now is Nanking Road. From far above the city walls to the Yang-king-pang a vast fleet of junks was moored along the shore in tiers extending far out into the stream, the crews of which on arrival or departure created a din with gongs and fire-crackers which from its frequency was almost continuous. At Woosung the junk anchorage was so crowded that years after European trade was established it was customary for foreign vessels when entering or leaving the river, to drop with the tide, having an anchor under foot, and a royal yard in the water astern with sail bent and its foot weighted, which manipulated by ropes from each quarter as occasion required guided the vessel in its sinuous course, There was
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.