Opium in the City

Abstract

The article examines the insertion of opium houses at different levels of the urban space of Guangzhou—from the largest to the smallest: the areas of Honam and Hopei, the districts, the streets—during the years 1923 to 1936. The distribution of dens changed mainly due to shifts in the strategy of the authorities, who paid special attention to the visibility of opium houses in the city and to the reactions of den operators concerned with the viability of their establishments. However, the distribution of dens remained the same throughout the period: an exceptional concentration of opium houses in Henan (Honam), the part of the city located south of the Pearl River. There were three different types of opium houses: sordid dens selling cheap adulterated opium, middle-range “local opium houses,” and high-class opium houses. Each type had a specific distribution throughout the city’s space corresponding to the nature of its consumers’ demands.