Fuh-chau-fu--or the Happy City--is built in a plain, through which flows the river Min. This plain is entirely surrounded by mountains, forming a vast amphitheatre of about twenty miles in diameter, in the northern part of which the city is situated, while the river enters it from the northwest, through a narrow pass said to be similar to the one we have described as occurring fourteen miles from its mouth. The land is of great fertility, and that part of it unoccupied by the city is intersected by little canals, and covered with cultivated fields, which are interspersed with hamlets, cottages, orchards, gardens, and beautifully wooded knolls. The Rev. R. S. Maclay, in his “Life among the Chinese,” says that “the city proper is surrounded by a substantial wall built compactly of brick, and resting on a foundation of granite. The wall is about twenty feet high and ten feet thick, surmounted by a parapet five feet high, with bastions at regular intervals. The gateways are of great size and strength, and so constructed that a small force in charge of them could hold at bay almost any number of attacking troops.” The extensive southern suburb--called the suburb of _Nantai_--reaches three miles from the south wall to the river, and stretches along both sides of the stream. Along the southern shore, and particularly upon the handsomely swelling hill beyond, this suburb is not as densely built. It is, however, the centre of both the native and foreign trade; and the business hongs of the foreigners are situated near the river, while their residences occupy the eminence that overlooks them. From this hill the south gate of the city--which is six miles distant--is reached by a single street. The two bridges spanning the river are substantially built of granite, and are connected by a little islet in the river, which is called by the natives _chang-chau_.[38] The bridge crossing the northern branch of the river--which is called “The Bridge of Ten Thousand Ages”--is composed of twenty-six spans, each measuring twenty feet, and is furnished with a stone balustrade. The piers and spans are constructed of granite; and the floor of the bridge is also formed of the same material. The bridge crossing that portion of the stream, between the island and the southern bank of the river, is built in the same manner, but comprises only nine arches. These remarkable structures--over which crowds of people are continually passing and repassing--are said to be at least a thousand years old. Ill-health prevented my thoroughly “doing” the city; but being guests for two days in the family of the Rev. Mr. Hartwell,--one of the missionaries of the American Board, who was living within the walls,--we visited a few places of interest, and learned more in regard to the city proper than I could otherwise have done.