What Are The Thirteen Hongs in Canton?

The Thirteen Hongs in Canton, also known as the Thirteen Factories, or Canton Factories, were institutions of the Qing government that specialized in foreign trade. They were semi-official and semi-commercial, and had the nature of monopolizing trade.

After the establishment of the Guangdong Customs in 1685, the Qing government implemented an official-merchant system in foreign trade. Officials and merchants acted as foreign trade brokers, coordinated the management of foreign trade, contracted and paid tariffs for foreign merchant ships and goods, and were responsible for conveying and handling negotiations between the government and foreign merchants.

After the foreign traders arrived in Canton, all the trade was managed by the official merchants, and even their daily lives. The western traders could only live in the "Yiguan" (warehouses and apartments) built by the merchants.

The Yiguan is generally a two-story building, with the upper floor for living and the lower floor for office or storage.

The so-called "Yi Shangguan" is a place where merchants in the Thirteen Hongs rented part of their business area to foreign traders, allowing them to temporarily stay during the trade season and conduct trade activities. Therefore, the Yiguan was not located inside the Thirteen Hongs, but was very close to it, in the same district.

In the export paintings depicting Guangzhou in the Qing Dynasty, Zhenhai Tower was often regarded as an indispensable landmark building. The red building on the far right of this picture is Zhenhai Tower. It stands majestically on the Yuexiu Mountain in Guangzhou city, with a grand demeanor.