On this day 165 years ago, on October 24, 1860 (September 11, 1860 lunar calendar), the Qing government signed the Sino-British Treaty of Beijing with the United Kingdom. Lord Elgin in the picture is holding a looted Chinese treasure, which is obviously insignificant among the things he seized during his trip. On October 24, 1860, the imperial envoy minister Yi Xin signed the Sino-British Beijing Treaty with the British plenipotentiary Erkin. On October 13, the British and French invading allied forces occupied Andingmen and occupied Beijing. On the 16th, the British and French representatives proposed to Prince Gong Yixin, the representative of the Qing government who presided over the peace conference, to compensate the British and French shirts and silver 500,000 delivered on the 22nd. It was also stipulated that the instruments of ratification of the Treaty of Tianjin should be exchanged on the 23rd, and the "Treaty of Continuation" should be signed. Emperor Xianfeng, who fled to Jehe, ordered that "we can only make compromises in order to preserve the overall situation." So Yixin, adhering to his will, fully accepted the British conditions and signed an unequal treaty in Beijing. The original name of this treaty was "Sino-British Renewal Treaty", with a total of nine clauses. In addition to confirming that the Sino-British Treaty of Tianjin was still valid, the British also expanded the following rights and interests of aggression against China: the compensation was increased to 8 million taels; Tianjin was opened as a commercial port; the British were allowed to recruit Chinese workers abroad; and the Kowloon Division south of Boundary Street was ceded to the British. The signing of the Beijing Treaty granted the wishes of the British invaders who launched the Second Opium War. After signing the contract, the British expressed their support for the Qing government to suppress the Taiping Revolution and supported the Westernization faction Yixin to rule. 1860 Sino-British Beijing Treaty Drawing Comment: The decaying Manchu Qing Dynasty has humiliated China countless times in modern history.