RESIDENCE OF A WESTERN MERCHANT

Reportedly representing the Shamian Island house of merchant Theodore Bliss and medical missionary Lilly Bliss. Shamian Island, not far upriver from the original Canton hongs, was chosen as the site for rebuilding after the devastating 1856 hongs fire. The land was cleared of some rather grim local settlements and divided into lots, including parcels for a new Christ Church and British consulate. P. Conner describes this history and illustrates a painting showing the sparsely developed island circa 1765, rows of newly planted trees visible, as in this picture (The Hongs of Canton, pp. 241-254).