Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
Western visitors to Chengdu have not always appreciated its rich heritage. In the early
20th century, foreign diplomatic staff regarded it as a backwater with an unhealthy climate,
and significantly less prestigious than postings in eastern China. Accommodation suitable for
consular use was not easy to obtain in the city. Westerners found Chinese houses uncomfort-
able, and opportunities to construct European-style buildings were rare. When the temporary
home of the British Consulate-General was destroyed in a fire on 23 January 1906, its staff
faced a daunting task to find new premises.
The Acting Consul-General, Herbert Goffe, used this map to identify potential locations,
marking three suitable sites upon it in blue pencil. After several months of wrangling over
the costs, the purchase of site A was agreed in August. Mr Goffe then encountered the fur-
ther difficulty that China did not officially permit foreign governments to buy property from
private vendors. Previously, diplomatic staff based in Chinese cities had circumvented this
rule by using Christian missionaries (who were not subject to the same restrictions) as in-
termediaries; the properties would be transferred into the Consul's name as soon as the sale
was completed. Accordingly, Goffe asked a British missionary named Mr Edgar to make the
transaction on his behalf.
Unfortunately, signs were erected by mistake stating that the property belonged to the Brit-
ish Protestant mission, instead of the Consulate-General. This upset Chengdu's American
missionaries, who owned a neighbouring plot and had wanted this land for themselves. Hear-
ing that the site had actually been acquired for diplomatic purposes, the Americans persuaded
their Canadian and British colleagues to join in protest against the alleged exploitation of
missionaries as political agents. The Chengdu authorities refused permission to register the
land in Goffe's name and, as no money had yet changed hands, the sale was cancelled. Mr
Edgar and his Chinese associates suffered considerable anguish over the incident.
Although the missionaries later withdrew their complaint, any possibility of securing the
site was lost. The British Consulate-General continued to occupy a succession of cramped
temporary premises for several years before finally leasing its own property in 1913. Even
then, it seems to have been the embarrassment of enduring accommodation inferior to the
French and German Consulates, rather than practical considerations, which prompted British
officials to find themselves a permanent home in Chengdu.
