The first thing that must attract the eye of an observant stranger, upon finding himself in a Chinese town, presuming him to have recovered from the effects of the foul odours which always infest the crowded suburbs lining the approaches thereto, will be the picturesque vista presented by the perpetually recurring series of smart shop-signs displayed in every principal thoroughfare. The peculiar conformation of the Chinese character, and the possibility of collocating the words either in horizontal, perpendicular, or any other lines without prejudice to legibility, renders them particularly well adapted for decorative purposes; and the Chinese exhibit much taste and skill in turning this characteristic to advantage in advertising their business and wares.

The shop signs, it must be understood, are not, as with us, displayed merely upon the shopfronts: but each establishment is furnished with projecting eaves, frequently elaborately carved and decorated, and under these at either corner next the street, is suspended or erected a perpendicular board richly varnished, and inscribed on both sides with the name of the concern and a notice of the commodities sold, so that it may be read at a distance by persons passing up or down the street: very frequently a scroll of cloth also inscribed on both sides is hung across the street for the same purpose.