Thirteen Factories

Thirteen Factories is an area of Guangzhou, China where the first foreign trade was allowed in the 18th century since Hai jin. It is also referred to as the ''"Thirteen Hongs"'' or the ''"Canton Factories"''.

Terminology

Factories were "foreigners quarters" outside the city walls in Guangzhou. These were business markets, not actual factories where goods were manufactured. The name came from the foreign agent term of "", who maintained offices or ''factories''. Chinese citizens often referred to the factories as "Barbarian Houses". In 1686, Westerners were allowed to also live in the area of the factories in Canton, at the head of the . In 1757, the Emperor Qianlong limited Westerners to the port of Canton, and no other area.

In 1793, attempts were made by who sent representative Lord to request that ports in northern China be opened to trade. Emperor Qianlong denied

{|class="wikitable"
! width=35% | Chinese Pinyin Names
! width=35% | English Names
! width=30% | Chinese Names
|-
| e-ho-hong || Factory of Justice and Peace ||义和行（小溪馆）
|-
| paeon-ho-hong || Factory of Tranquillity ||新英国馆（保和行）？？
|-
| || Hog lane ||猪巷
|-
| fung-tae-hong || Chow-Chow Factory || 炒炒馆（丰泰行、巴斯行）
|-
| bung-shan-hong || Old English Factory ||旧英国馆（隆顺行）
|-
| suy-hang || Swedish Factory ||瑞典行（瑞行）
|-
| ma-ying-hang || Imperial Factory ||帝国馆（孖鹰行）
|-
| paon-shun-hang || Precious and Prosperous Factory ||宝顺馆（宝顺行）
|-
| kwang-yuen-hang || American Factory ||美国行（广源行）
|-
| || Old China street ||老中国街
|-
| || French Factory ||法兰西馆（高公行）
|-
| || Spanish Factory ||西班牙馆（大吕宋行）
|-
| || Danish Factory ||丹麦行
|-
In 1835, medical missionary opened an Ophthalmic Hospital at 3 Hog Lane. Lam Qua, a Western-trained Chinese painter who also had workshops in the Thirteen Factories area, was commissioned by Parker to paint pre-operative portraits of patients who had large tumors or other major deformities.

Policies

The emperor appointed an official called the hoppo, to take charge and collect taxes from the goods traded. The position also overlook whether the trades went accordingly. The hoppo was responsible for merchant relations on behalf of the Qing court. It was an important position since merchants were not allowed to communicate with the emperor directly.

Foreigners were also not allowed to learn Chinese by rule at the time though the British did have as a translator. The four linguists representing the Chinese side included Atom, Achow, Atung and Akang.