In the very heart of the Guangzhou Cultural Park, near the historic Shamian Island, stands a museum indispensable for understanding the fate of the city and the entire world trade of the 18th and 19th centuries. This is the Thirteen Hongs Museum, founded in 2005. After visiting Shamian Island, take time to stroll to the museum; it is within walking distance.
The Name: A Key to History
The museum bears the name "Thirteen Hongs", which is a direct reference to the unique trading institution of the "Canton System" (1757-1842). By imperial decree, all of China`s foreign trade with Western powers (Great Britain, France, the Netherlands, the USA, etc.) was concentrated in Guangzhou and strictly regulated.
Foreign merchants were permitted to live and conduct business only in a specially designated waterfront zone - the "Thirteen Factories" district. The "Hongs" themselves were not industrial plants but trading posts and warehouses, united under the control of a guild of Chinese monopoly merchants, the "co-hongs." Thus, the museum`s name is the key to understanding an entire era of isolationism and controlled globalization.
Trade Life in the Factories: A World in Miniature
Trade followed a strict ritual. Foreign ships unloaded on Shamian Island. Merchants lived in their factories almost as if in a "gilded cage": their movement around the city was restricted, and their interaction with Chinese people was regulated. Deals could only be concluded through approved Chinese "co-hongs."
The trading season lasted from summer to winter, after which foreigners had to leave China or go to Macau. In exchange for silver from Europe and America, the West received the coveted goods of the Celestial Empire, creating a huge trade imbalance. It was in these factories that the fate of the world`s supplies of tea, silk, and porcelain was decided.
The Exhibition: A Journey Through the Era
The exhibition of the Thirteen Hongs Museum is structured as a sequential narrative.
The First Floor is dedicated to the history of the emergence and functioning of the "Canton System." On display are:
• Maps, engravings, and old photographs recreating the appearance of the waterfront with its factories.
• Documents and contracts illustrating the complex system of regulation.
• Models of foreign clipper ships and Chinese junks.
• Dioramas depicting scenes of trade negotiations and life inside the factories.
The Second Floor is a treasury showcasing the export items for which the Western world sailed to China. Of particular interest is the collection of metalwork, which dispels the stereotype of China as solely an exporter of porcelain and silk. These items were key export commodities:
• A unique collection of Canton enamels: Magnificent painted enamels on copper ("Guangfalan") are presented. These include boxes, snuffboxes, bowls, vases, and paired decorative interior panels, created to special Western orders. Their subjects—European landscapes, portraits, coats of arms, and biblical scenes—were executed by Chinese craftsmen with astonishing delicacy.
• Elegant silver and gold jewelry: Rings, brooches, hairpins, and buttons demonstrate the highest skill of local jewelers who worked for both the domestic market and export to Southeast Asia.
• Chased silver and pewter (a tin alloy) items: Cutlery, goblets, and decorative objects popular with European buyers.
• Artistic bronze: Figurines, incense burners, and interior items.
• Mass-market goods: Here you can also see the main export hits: silk of various weaves, exquisite porcelain (including pieces painted to Western designs), samples of tea, and items made of carved blackwood.
The Thirteen Hongs Museum serves as the missing link: Shamian Island allows you to see the "scenery" - the well-preserved colonial architecture where foreigners lived. The museum reveals the substance of that era: the mechanisms of trade, the drama of cultural contacts, and the incredible richness and quality of Chinese goods that defined Western tastes for centuries.
