Bike Tour of the History of Diplomacy in Beijing

This bike ride is a crash course in the history of Western-style diplomacy in Beijing. The tour explores everything from the impact of Jesuit missionaries at the Imperial court to the legacy of Richard Nixon's visit to the People's Republic in 1972. The 15-kilometer route is also a timeline spanning around 800 years of history.   Hear about the 55-day siege of the diplomatic quarter during the Boxer rebellion in 1900, the destruction of the British embassy during the Cultural Revolution, and why the site of the former U.S. embassy is now an open, empty grass field in an entertaining and informative afternoon. The tour ends in the Beijing Postcards gallery space with an exhibition of original maps and archival material related to the topic.

4 hours