虎门 (Hǔmén): Humen (the Bocca Tigris, narrow…

Meanings

1 Humen (the Bocca Tigris, narrow strait at the mouth of the Pearl River, Guangdong)
2 Humen Town in Dongguan

Characters

虎

Examples

1839年林则徐在虎门销毁鸦片。

Yī bā sān jiǔ nián Lín Zéxú zài Hǔmén xiāohuǐ yāpiàn.

In 1839, Lin Zexu destroyed opium at Humen.

虎门镇是广东重要的服装制造中心。

Hǔmén Zhèn shì Guǎngdōng zhòngyào de fúzhuāng zhìzào zhōngxīn.

Humen Town is a major garment manufacturing center in Guangdong.

Tips

history

Site of the 1839 虎门销烟 (Destruction of Opium at Humen): commissioner 林则徐 (Lin Zexu) had 1,000+ tons of British opium dissolved in seawater pits — the immediate trigger for the First Opium War (1839-1842). Today the site is a national museum and 6 June (the start of the destruction) is China's anti-drug day.

memory

虎门 literally 'Tiger Gate' — the Portuguese rendering 'Bocca Tigris' is a direct calque ('mouth of the tiger'). Two hilly islands at the strait reminded sailors of a tiger's open jaws.