Hangchow Itineraries
by Robert Ferris Fitch
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Hangchow Itineraries, Describing the Chief Places of Interest with a Note on the Famous Bore, by R. F. Fitch. Third Revised and Enlarged Edition. With Twelve Illustrations and Six Maps. (Shanghai, China: Kelly & Walsh, Limited, and at Hongkong & Singapore, 1929, pp. 94).
The author, Dr. Robert Ferris Fitch (1873-1954), No. 8731, son of George Field Fitch, No. 6436, was president of Hangchow Christian College. The city was the capitol of China during the Southern Song dynasty, and was known for the beauty of its West Lake location. An old Chinese saying states, "Above is Heaven; below are Soochow and Hangchow." The "bore" referenced in the title is a tidal phenomenon on the Ch'ien T'ang River. On the second and third days after new and full moon, the strong tide and the funnel-shaped river combine to produce a crest of advancing water 15 feet high, with rebounding waves from the built-up walls as much as 30 feet high.