Page:Twentieth Century Impressions of Hongkong, Shanghai, and other Treaty Ports of China.djvu/160

152 size and shape—from the little junks, or sampans, of the natives to the warships of the China squadron and the majestic liners of 27,000 tons burden belonging to the Pacific Mail Steamship Company. A busy, clamorous life prevails on every side. Steam launches dart hither and thither, innumerable sampans wriggle their tortuous courses backward and forward between the ships and the shore, junks pick their way up and down the fairways under lateen sails, and ocean-going steamers move in stately fashion to and from their moorings. Viewed from the harbour, Hongkong presents a very picturesque appearance, not unlike that of the north coast of Devon, or the west coast of Scotland. At night time the scene resembles a city en fête. The riding lights of the shipping sparkling like gems on the bosom of the deep, the bright illuminations of the water-front, and the countless lamps that bespangle the hillsides and stretch along the terraces as though in festoons, furnish a sight that fascinates the eye and leaves an enduring impression of delight upon the mind.

Nestling at the foot of the hills, and stretching from east to west for nearly five miles along the northern coast of the island, is the city of Victoria. A thriving hive of industry, built on a narrow riband of land, much of which has been won from the sea, it is a wonderful monument to the enterprise, energy, and success of the British as colonisers. The streets are well laid out and well kept, and the buildings which abut upon them are remarkable for their massive and imposing design. The Praya, which borrows its name from the embankment in the neighbouring colony of Macao, is some 50 feet wide, and extends along the entire sea-front, except for a short distance where its continuity is broken by the buildings of the War Office and the Admiralty. The original Praya wall was commenced during the governorship of Sir Hercules Robinson (1859–65), when extensive reclamations of land were made from the sea. The work, however, was demolished by a terrific typhoon in August of 1867, and was again seriously damaged by a similar visitation in 1874. Undismayed, however, the inhabitants repaired the breaches, and, in 1890, at the initiative of Sir Paul Chater, another considerable tract of land was added to the European business area. It is now proposed to carry the Praya a quarter of a mile further out to sea from the Naval Yard to Causeway Bay, a mile and a quarter to the east.

Almost parallel with the Praya runs Des Voeux Road, and behind this is Queen's Road, flanked with fine shops, and extending from the water's edge at Kennedy Town, on the west, to within a short distance of Happy Valley, on the east—in all some four miles. Originally Queen's Road was just above high-water mark, and gave its name to the rising township, which was known as Queen's Town before it became the city of Victoria in 1843. These three roads—the Praya (or Connaught Road), Des Voeux Road, and Queen's Road—form the main arteries of traffic, and are intersected at right angles by a number of short streets. Space is too precious to allow of any of these being very wide, but this is not a matter of much moment in view of the almost entire absence of horsed conveyances. Vehicular traffic is confined chiefly to handcarts, rickshaws, chairs suspended from poles borne on the shoulders of coolies, there being but a few pair-pony gharries, and a Victoria or two used by Chinese.

The European business quarter lies in the centre of the town, between Pottinger Street and the Naval Yard. Within this small area of less than 50 acres are grouped handsome blocks of offices ranging from four to six storeys in height, that would not suffer by comparison with those of many cities in the United Kingdom. They stand upon pile foundations, and are built to meet local conditions. The verandahs, by which all of them are surrounded, render any pure style of architecture impossible, but, generally speaking, it may be said that the prevailing tone, so far as it can be identified with any particular period, is that of the Italian Renaissance. This applies to Queen's Buildings, a block measuring 180 feet square, with four storeys, surmounted by towers 150 feet in height; Prince's Buildings, a similar block; George's, King's, Alexandra, and York Buildings, Hotel Mansions, the Hongkong Club, and the premises of the Eastern Extension Telegraph Company, and of Messrs. Butterfield &amp; Swire. Not far removed from these, and occupying a corner site abutting upon Queen's Road and Des Voeux Road, is the Hongkong and