IN today's Shanghai, probably no Chinese would show surprise when seeing a foreigner walking around town now that Shanghai's openness has attracted so many of them to live and work here.

However, about 160 years ago, when Robert Fortune (1813-80), the Scottish botanist and traveller was sent out by the British Royal Horticultural Society to China to collect plants, he was followed around town by hundreds of Chinese. They were "like people on the streets of London who were eager to take a look at the Queen" Fortune wrote in a book in which he not only described his activities in Shanghai but also his feelings about the city.

In 1842, Shanghai was under the domination of foreign invaders and the Shanghainese called them "Gui Zi", meaning "foreign devils". Foreign residents in Shanghai complained many times about this to the British Consulate and the consulate lodged a strong protest with the local Chinese authorities.

According to Fortune, the protest was effective and when a citizen was heard calling foreigners "Gui Zi", he would be scolded by other Chinese who overheard him.

Fortune wrote that Shanghai was a busy and prosperous city in the 1840s. The narrow streets were always packed with business people and shoppers, mainly buying and selling food.

Sometimes, it was difficult to move along the streets past the stalls piled high with fish, pork, fruit and vegetables. Impressed by such a flourishing market, Fortune couldn't help remarking that hardship and poverty in China were less than in any other county in the world. "Even the beggars look happy and residents are kind to them," Fortune wrote.

As Fortune was also a botanist, he spent much time observing life in the countryside where he found a totally different lifestyle.

In the countryside, he saw many cone-shaped tombs where poor people were laid to rest. The families of the rich had graveyards planted with pines and cypresses. The people also held various kinds of burial rituals and burnt incense on special days.

During his time in Shanghai, Fortune researched its trading activities. He compared Shanghai with Guangzhou and came up with his own prediction that Shanghai would become a huge market for cotton textiles for Britain. He also wrote that it would be much cheaper to transport tea and silk through Shanghai rather than Guangzhou because of Shanghai's more favourable geographic location.

Finally, Fortune wrote that the climate in Shanghai was beneficial to the health. "The local people are nice and foreign residents are respected. As a place of residence, Shanghai has many advantages that its rivals can't compete with," he said.

(The author is from the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences)