Hangchow Itineraries
by Robert Ferris Fitch
H
angchow Itineraries
, Describing
the Chief Places of Interest with a Note on the Famous Bore, by
R. F. Fitch. Third Revised and Enlarged Edition. With Twelve
Illustrations and Six Maps. (Shanghai, China: Kelly & Walsh,
Limited, and at Hongkong & Singapore, 1929, pp. 94).
The author, Dr. Robert Ferris Fitch (1873-1954), son of George
Field Fitch,
No. 6436, was president of Hangchow Christian College. The city
was the capitol of China during the Southern Song dynasty, and
was known for the beauty of its West Lake location. An old
Chinese saying states, "Above is Heaven; below are Soochow and
Hangchow." The "bore" referenced in the title is a tidal
phenomenon on the Ch'ien T'ang River. On the second and third
days after new and full moon, the strong tide
and the funnel-shaped river combine to produce a crest of
advancing water 15 feet high, with rebounding waves from the
built-up walls as much as 30 feet high.
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