On the morning of August 28, 1896, the Port of New York was crowded, and citizens and media reporters from all over the world gathered here to block the road, and even more remarkable was the 30 U.S. Navy warships lined up in the harbor, including the capital ships "Miami", "Texas", "Soyuz", and the largest flagship "New York", and the commander of the fleet, Bangsi, was constantly deploying on board.
At 9:00 a.m., the target people were waiting for, taking the "St. Louis" cruise ship of the Qing Dynasty diplomatic mission, finally from the horizon, slowly entering the harbor, which was clearly marked with the Great Qing Dragon Flag, and then the 19-gun salute sounded on the US warship, and a burst of cheers broke out on the shore...
Under the attention of Lu Jie, commander of the Eastern Army of the United States, and others, a thin and tall old man walked on the St. Louis cruise ship, he was wearing a soft silk coat, covered with a yellow coat, originally 1 meter 83 tall because he was wearing a Qing Dynasty official hat, it looked more eye-catching, when the old man saw Lu Jie, he immediately got rid of the support of his entourage, quickly extended his hand, and the two immediately shook hands together.
This is a historic day for the two countries, and the above-mentioned old man is Li Hongzhang, who opened the first official exchange between the two countries.
The Americans also attached great importance to this, held a grand welcome ceremony, and many people came spontaneously, and the New York Times described the scene as "everyone wants to witness the style of the Prime Minister of the Qing Dynasty, because this person manages more people than the monarchs of Europe combined."
The background of Li Hongzhang's visit to the United States is also quite intriguing.
As one of the first Western countries to deal with the Qing Dynasty, as early as 1784, five months after the North American Revolutionary War, the American merchant ship "Empress of China" had sailed into the harbor of Guangzhou.
Although in 1844, the United States and the Qing government signed the unequal agreement of the Treaty of Wangxia in Macau, until the outbreak of the Spanish-American War in 1899, the Relationship between the Qing and the United States was the most stable period with the Western powers. By the 1880s, relations between the two countries had become closer, with more than 300,000 Chinese workers going to the United States and participating in various projects, including the large-scale development of the western region.
After the Sino-Japanese War, the three-country intervention was successful, the Qing government gradually began to realize the importance of international exchanges, foreign policy from "yi to destroy" to "strong reinforcements", so Li Hongzhang was ordered to send envoys to Europe and the United States, in Europe, he first met with the Russian Emperor Nicholas II, The German Emperor Wilhelm II and Bismarck, and then received by Victoria, on August 28, through the Atlantic Ocean to new York, the United States, and met with the then US president, General Griffland, who became famous in the Civil War. The two also formed a friendship with each other.
The purpose of Li Hongzhang's visit is nothing more than three points: one is to visit the actual situation of European and American countries and learn from experience, the other is to promote and publicize the foreign affairs movement, and the third is to hold specific consultations on the interests of the Chinese in the United States.
In 1882, the United States passed the Chinese Exclusion Act, which not only prohibited the transfer of laborers from China, but also prohibited Chinese who were already in the United States from obtaining American citizenship.
To this end, Li Hongzhang expressed his dissatisfaction very clearly, and he changed the route back to China, preferring to enter From Canada and go to the Pacific Ocean by boat to return to China, rather than enter the most serious state in the west.
He visited cities in the United States and Chinatowns, including New York and Philadelphia, where the Dragon Flag of the Qing Dynasty flew everywhere. On the morning of September 2, Li Hongzhang was also interviewed by reporters at the Waldorf Road Hotel in New York, which also had a lot of dialogues with a sense of the times and significance.
When asked what he liked best in the United States, Li Hongzhang replied: "I like everything I see in the United States, and everything makes me happy." What surprised me the most were the 20-story or taller skyscrapers, which I had never seen before in China or Europe. ”
When it comes to women's education, Li Hongzhang said that families with financial ability generally hire female tutors, but the Qing Dynasty did not have public schools for women, but the Qing court should probably learn from the Western education system. Girls' education is also needed.
In addition, Li Hongzhang called on the United States to help amend or repeal the "Glyp" (Chinese Exclusion Act) to better protect the rights and interests of overseas Chinese.
On September 6, Li Hongzhang boarded a special train officially prepared by the United States in Washington, rushed to Canada, and visited the famous Niagara Falls at the border, officially ending his American journey.