Beijing Legation Quarter

The Beijing Legation Quarter was the area in Beijing where a number of foreign legations were located between 1861 and 1959. In Chinese, the area is known as "Dōng jiāomín xiàng" (東交民巷), which is the name of the "hutong" (lane or small street) running through the area. It is located immediately to the east of Tiananmen Square.

Origins

In the Yuan Dynasty, "Dong jiaomin xiang" was the location of the tax office and customs authorities, because of its proximity to the river port by which rice and grains arrived in Beijing from the south. In the Ming Dynasty, a number of ministries moved into the area, including the Ministry of Rites, which was in charge of diplomatic matters. Several hostels were built for tributary missions from Vietnam, Mongolia, Korea and Burma.

Legation quarter

Following China's defeat in the Second Opium War in 1856-60, the Zongli Yamen was established as a foreign office of the Qing and the area around "Dong jiaomin xiang" was opened for a number of foreign legations.

The foreign legations were originally scattered close to the Qing imperial government in the southern part of Beijing's old inner city, just west of Tian'anmen Square and north of Qianmen and Chongwenmen. During the Boxer rebellion in 1900, the Legation Quarter became the center of an international incident as it was besieged by boxers for several months. After the siege had been broken by the Eight-Nation Alliance, the foreign powers obtained the right to station troops to protect their legations under the terms of the Boxer Protocol. The Legation Quarter was encircled by a wall and all Chinese residents in the area were ordered to move out. Sealed off from its immediate environment, the Legation Quarter became a city within the city exclusively for foreigners and many Chinese nationalists resented the Quarter as a symbol of foreign aggression.

In 1937, upon the eruption of the Second Sino-Japanese War, most foreign legations, apart from those of the Axis Powers, quit Beijing. The Legation Quarter was then officially handed back to the Republic of China government.

Under the People's Republic

At the time of the establishment of the People's Republic of China (1949), a number of foreign legations were still situated here, but after 1959 foreign missions were moved to Sanlitun outside the old city walls.

At present, some buildings from the Legation Quarter period survive. However, the area suffered much vandalism during the Cultural Revolution. More damage was inflicted since the 1980s due to Beijing's redevelopment. Several buildings, such as the former HSBC building, were demolished for road expansion. Some buildings are occupied by government institutions. A number of modern high-rise buildings have also been built, dramatically changing the area's streetscape. Nevertheless, as Beijing's most significant collection of Western-style buildings, the area is a tourist destination and is protected by municipal artefact preservation orders.

References

*Moser, Michael J., and Yeone Wei-chih Moser. "Foreigners within the Gates: The Legations at Peking." Hong Kong, New York: Oxford University Press, 1993.

External links

* [http://www.drben.net/ChinaReport/Beijing/MapsofBeijing/Doncheng_District/Legations_Quarter/Beijing_Former_Legations_Quarter-Map-1900AD-War1.html Map of former Legation Quarter + Legations]
* [http://www.pbase.com/matt_in_sha/legation Photographs of former Legation Quarter]