Photo taken by Emperor Guangxu's biological father (center), Li Hongzhang (right) and Shan Qing (left) at the foot of Haiguang Temple in Tianjin

Li Hongzhang was born on February 15, 1823 in Hefei, Anhui. In 1861, he assisted Zeng Guofan and cooperated with the foreign invading army to capture the Soviet Union. Chang Gonggong was promoted to governor of Jiangsu. In 1865, he served as governor of Liangjiang and mobilized more than 60,000 Huai Army troops to suppress the uprising. In 1870, upon the strong recommendation of Zeng Guofan, he was appointed Governor of Zhili and Minister of Beiyang, taking charge of military, political and diplomatic powers. Later, in order to save the late Qing Dynasty, he launched large-scale Westernization. He successively established manufacturing bureaus, investment bureaus, weaving bureaus, coal mines, railways and other enterprises. He advocated government operations, purchased arms from abroad, expanded the strength of the Huai Army, established the Beiyang Fleet, and became the leader of the Westernization Faction. Li Hongzhang opposed resistance to foreign aggression, advocated compromise and surrender, and signed a series of traitorous treaties with foreign countries, such as the Sino-British Yantai Treaty, the Sino-French New Testament, the Treaty of Shimonoseki, and the Sino-Russian Secret Treaty. Internally, he opposed reform and reform and suppressed the Boxer Rebellion.

Li Hongzhang passed away in 1901.

Li Hongzhang statue

In 1879, former US President Grant visited China and took a group photo with Li Hongzhang

In 1900, Li Hongzhang took a group photo with Bu Li and others