2-913-749 - The Print Collector/Heritage Images

Shanghae, from an original sketch, 1854. British ships at Shanghai in China. 'Its fine climate, fertile soil, commanding position, rising wealth and commerce, would indicate...capabilities which must place Shanghae at the head of the English ports in China. But [the Crimean] war has paralysed trade. The warehouses are full of the manufactured goods which, in peaceful times, would have been bought by the Chinamen, and dollars could be got for them...The mountains...are said to contain coal in great abundance. It is most important that this vast mineral wealth should be developed, as an auxiliary to steam navigation of the [Yangtze] river; and not only that, but for our own use'. From "Illustrated London News", 1854.