Baliqiao

　　Destination Introduction
　　Baliqiao, also known as Yongtong Bridge, was built in the 11th year of the Zhengtong era during the Ming Dynasty (1446). Running from north to south, it is thirty meters long and sixteen meters wide. The bridge is adorned with thirty-three carved railings and thirty-three pairs of stone lions on both sides, all exquisitely crafted, making it one of Beijing’s three ancient bridges.

　　　　Located by the Tonghui River next to Jianguo Road, Baliqiao guards a strategic pass in eastern Beijing. On the seventh day of the tenth month in the tenth year of the Xianfeng reign (August 1860), British and French invading forces advanced northward from Tianjin toward the capital but were repelled by 30,000 Qing troops here. After an earth-shattering and bloody battle, all 30,000 soldiers died in defense, composing a heroic and tragic ode in the annals of Qing history with their blood.

　　　　Flipping through the blood-soaked pages of China’s Modern History, you will be astonished to discover that before the ink had even dried on the Treaty of Nanjing and the Treaty of Whampoa, British and French invaders used the pretext of treaty revisions to recklessly provoke another war against China. In November 1857, they dispatched troops to capture Guangzhou, taking Governor-General Ye Mingchen captive and imprisoning him in Calcutta, India. The following spring, they advanced northward again, seizing the Dagu Forts in Tianjin and forcing the Qing government to sign the Treaty of Tianjin. The year after, when British and French forces failed to renegotiate the treaty by force in Tianjin, they resolved to “inflict large-scale retaliation on China.” In July 1860, they assembled 119 warships and over 20,000 troops in China and launched an attack on the Dagu estuary in Tianjin. Qing troops fought back fiercely, with trenches stained red by blood. Liang Shan, the Viceroy of Zhili, died a heroic death in battle, Tianjin fell, and Sengge Rinchen, the Qing commander, hastily retreated overnight to Tongzhou.

　　　　The young Emperor Xianfeng, burning with rage, resolved to fight the foreign invaders once more. He mustered over 20,000 troops under Sengge Rinchen and 6,000 under Shengbao (Emperor Xianfeng’s brother), stationing them respectively in Zhangjiawan, Guojiafen, and Dingfuzhuang to reinforce the capital’s defenses. On August 4, the British and French forces attacked the Qing troops at Zhangjiawan and fired rockets at Sengge Rinchen’s cavalry. The horses panicked, throwing the formation into chaos, and the Qing army retreated to Baliqiao to block the invaders’ advance on Beijing.

　　　　Baliqiao is about ten kilometers from Beijing and sits at the crucial throat between Beijing and Tianjin. In the early hours of August 7, 6,000 British and French troops, backed by intense artillery fire, stormed toward Baliqiao. The Qing forces fought back fiercely, engaging the invaders—armed with modern guns and cannons—with nothing but flesh and blood. Outside Tongzhou City, the sounds of battle shook the heavens, while near Baliqiao, dust darkened the skies as Qing troops faced death unflinchingly. Shengbao was wounded and fell from his horse, and a tall orderly standing at the bridgehead waved a black-lettered yellow flag. Bullets whistled past him, but he remained calm and unmoving until he was shot down, earning the admiration even of the French commander. Fighting continued until nightfall when Baliqiao finally fell, and Sengge Rinchen retreated south of the bridge to Xianhu Village.

　　　　Location: Eight li from the West Gate of Tongzhou

　　　　The bridge is built with stone arches in a vaulted style. It runs from north to south, spanning the Tonghui River. The bridge is fifty meters long and sixteen meters wide. The western side has stone railings with solid slabs, featuring thirty-three ornamental pillars on each side, each topped with exquisitely carved stone lions. Stone beasts are placed at both ends. Four stone water-controlling beasts are carved along the riverbanks on both the east and west sides of the bridge.

　　　　During the battles against the Anglo-French Allied Forces in 1860 and the Eight-Nation Alliance in 1900 in the tenth year of the Xianfeng reign (1860) and the 26th year of the Guangxu reign (1900), the Chinese people fought heroically against imperialist invaders here. In 1984 and 1986, the northern and southern arches of the bridge collapsed successively but were later restored. About 100 meters east of the southern end of the bridge stands the Qing-era Yongzheng Imperial Stone Road Stele.  Transportation Info       Multiple bus lines including 312, 322, 938, 848, 728, and others can get you there.

　　 Beijing Chaoyang District