Hello, what does " bowl" mean in this context?
This beautiful bowl in the hills,where the only Chinese were servants and shopkeepers, provided a safety valve in an age when missionaries had to serve long periods between furloughs.
By the way, what does this sentence mean?
3ku

Question

Hello, what does " bowl" mean in this context?
This beautiful bowl in the hills,where the only Chinese were servants and shopkeepers, provided a safety valve in an age when missionaries had to serve long periods between furloughs. 
By the way, what does this sentence mean?
3ku

Answer

It's the shape of the place: it would look like a bowl sitting between the mountains if you saw it from a distance.