"Shanghae is by far the most important station for foreign trade on the coast of China....... No other town with which I am acquainted possesses such advantages; it is the great gate - the principal entrance, in fact, to the Chinese Empire...
"Taking, therefore, all these facts into consideration, the proximity of Shanghae to the large towns of Hangchow, Soo-chow, and the ancient capital of Nanking; the large native trade, the convenience of inland transit by means of rivers and canals; the fact that teas and silks can be brought here more readily than to Canton; and, lastly, viewing this place as an immense mart for our cotton manufactures, which we already know it to be, there can be no doubt that in a few years it will not only rival Canton, but become a place of far greater importance."
(Excerpts from Three Years' Wanderings in the Northern Provinces of China, by ROBERT FORTUNE, British botanist, who visited Shanghai late in 1843, a few days after the city was declared open to foreign trade on November 17, 1843).
unless otherwise indicated