Like their predecessors, the Qing emperors required foreigners to live in a separate quarter of the city. The foreigners lived in buildings called “factories,” which included living quarters, warehouses, and offices for trade. (These factories did not manufacture anything; the name comes from “factor,” an older English word for “commercial agent.”) The Chinese called them “hongs,” or merchant shops.
Layout of the Foreign Factories
[cwMAP_factories_CTPB]
Layout of the Foreign
Factories, ca. 1825–1844