Page 135 - JCAU-7-1

Journal of Chinese
Architecture and Urbanism Development of the Thirteen Factories

and regulated trade with foreign merchants, the Huangpu planning developments from the 1830s to the 1850s,
(previously known as Whampoa) district served as the including descriptions of the factories’ internal functions,
mandatory anchorage for foreign vessels, and Macao decoration, and appearance (Zeng, 1993). Peng Changxin
functioned as a residential area for Western merchants examined the layout of the Thirteen Factories in the
(Zhang, 2009). The Thirteen Factories System was pivotal 18 and 19 centuries and traced changes in their exteriors
th
th
within the Guangzhou System, as it created a monopoly in a thematic format (Peng, 2012). He also provided an
through Hang merchants, who controlled foreign trade. in-depth discussion of the American and English gardens
On arrival at Huangpu, foreign vessels were required to located in front of the Thirteen Factories quarter (Peng,
select a “security merchant” from the Thirteen Factories, 2014). Using archives from the Peabody Essex Museum,
who assumed full responsibility for their behavior. These Johnathan Farris investigated how the spaces of Thirteen
hangs acted as intermediaries between officials and foreign Factories were shaped through Sino-Western collaboration
merchants, ensuring the safety of lives and properties and confrontation (Farris, 2007).
(Liang, 2009).
The studies outlined above-addressed issues such as
By the early 18 century, Guangzhou had begun to site selection, scale, distribution, and architectural form
th
attract significant interest from Western traders. Before of the Thirteen Factories, as well as the evolution of their
the 1850s, vessels from the East India Companies of layout and the construction of their gardens. Recently,
Britain, Holland, France, Denmark, and Sweden docked Patrick Conner carried out a detailed examination of
at Huangpu. During this period, other traders, including the evolution of the Thirteen Factories by analyzing
the Royal Philippines Company of Spain, the Ostend large collections of export paintings. His work included
Merchants of the Austrian Netherlands, and ships from depictions of the buildings themselves, shopping streets,
Prussia and the United States of America (USA), also fire damage, and their final destruction (Conner, 2014).
conducted trade in Guangzhou. In addition, merchants Using both export paintings and historical literature,
from Hamburg and Bremen in Germany, as well as Livorno, Paul A. Van Dyke conducted an extensive analysis of Old
Genoa, and Tuscany in Italy, joined the Guangzhou trade China Street and New China Street within the Thirteen
by the mid-18 century (Zhang, 2009). In parallel, country Factories quarter (Van Dyke, 2015). He also explored
th
traders from Asia – such as Parsees, Indians, Armenians, the development of the factories before 1822 (Van Dyke,
Malays, Moors, Turks, Arabs, and Jews – seasonally 2017b). Gu Xueping and Peng Changxin conducted a time-
gathered in Guangzhou aboard “country ships” (Van Dyke, lapse study of the architectural space, block planning, and
2017a). From 1758 to 1838, a total of 5,107 ships traded façade characteristics of the Thirteen Factories, offering a
at Guangzhou Customs, averaging 63.8 ships/year (Huang, comprehensive overview of their historical development
1986). (Gu & Peng, 2023). Their findings advance the discussion
th
As a cosmopolitan port city, Guangzhou attracted a of the Thirteen Factories beyond the 19 century and
diverse range of people in the 18 and 19 centuries. The address critical questions about changes in ownership,
th
th
Thirteen Factories provided lodging and storage for foreign the timing of street development, and the evolution of
merchants during trade seasons. Over time, some evolved architectural space.
into long-term trading posts and eventually became Previous studies have primarily focused on the
permanent factories for certain countries. For example, the construction processes and architectural forms of the
British East India Company established a factory in 1715, Thirteen Factories within the framework of Qing China’s
the Dutch East India Company in 1729, the French East trade system. While the concept of Westernization has been
India Company in 1698, and the Royal Spanish Philippine examined, much of the research has focused on the factory
Company in 1731. Subsequently, other countries such buildings themselves, often neglecting their global origins.
as Prussia, Denmark, Sweden, and the USA also set up Consequently, the globalization of their architecture has
factories in Guangzhou (Zhang, 2009). typically been discussed only in terms of stylistic changes
Researchers have long emphasized the importance to their façades.
of Guangzhou’s factories. In 1937, Liang Jiabin’s (1910 – This article examines the Thirteen Factories from
1995) Study of the Thirteen Hongs of Canton described the the perspective of economic globalization, tracing the
Thirteen Factories as “offices and residences of foreign origins of their architectural forms and analyzing their
merchants, all leased from the Thirteen Hongs,” and construction processes within the context of global trade
detailed the distribution of factories and streets (Liang, routes. By comparing the architectural forms of the
2009, 307). Zeng Zhaoxuan (1921 – 2007) explored site factories and neighborhood planning in both Chinese and
selection in terms of urban geography and discussed foreign contexts, this study scrutinizes the manifestations

Volume 7 Issue 1 (2025) 2 https://doi.org/10.36922/jcau.3676