Untitled

TOPOGRAPHY. 238
which it is at present 24 miles distant. It is much exposed to the "yellow
wind " from the north and north-west, charged with the dust of the desert.
The traffic in the local produce made the fortune of the first European settlers at
Shanghai, who flourished, so to say, on the national disasters. The Ta'iping war
drove thousands to take
refuge
on the land ceded
to the foreigners, and when
Suchew was destroyed in
1860, Shanghai
took its
place as the foremost city
in the country. But after
the overthrow of the rebels
the population flowed back
into the interior, and the
number of native inhabit-
ants fell from half a million
to 65,000. Nevertheless,
Shanghai
became the chief
depot for the distribu-
tion of European imports
throughout the empire.
The English " Concession,"
which enjoys the" privilege
of self-government, is the
" model colony, the republic
of the Hoang-pu." The
territory conceded to the
Americans to the north of
the Suchew River has been
united since 1863 to the
British municipality, which
is also occupied by over a
hundred thousand natives,
as ( well as by most of the
French residents, glad to
take refuge here from the
despotic power of their
consul. South of the Chinese
quarter
lies (lie suburb of
[of G
Fig. 106. SHANGHAI AND THE HOANO-PC.
Scale 1 : 175,000.
to 33 Feet. 83 Feet and upward.
3 Milen.
H, while the opposite or east bank of the river is occupied by Puntuug,
often called the " Little Europe," from its numerous native Christian population.
Shanghai does a very large export trade in tea, chiefly to England and America,
and in silk mainly to France, while opium forms by far the most important item
in its imports. Five lines of river .steamers have their head-quarters at this
48