What was Beijing like 150 years ago? A group of old photos from 1865

The year 1865 was the fourth year of Tongzhi in the Qing Dynasty. Yi Xin used her status as a pro dignitary to control the government, which aroused the suspicion of Empress Dowager Cixi and led to her dismissal. This year, after the defeat and death of the Taiping Army, Li Shixian’s Department, Wang Haiyang’s Department was also completely destroyed at the Huangsha Barrier in Jiaying Prefecture (now Meizhou), Guangdong Province, and the Taiping Army was completely suppressed; In that year, the feudal lord Akubi of Kokand in Central Asia led troops to invade the southern Xinjiang; This year also witnessed the birth of Duan Qirui and Tan Si, both famous people related to the Qing Dynasty

What was the central Beijing of the Qing Dynasty in 1865? Today, we will reveal the secret through a group of old photos taken in those years

This group of photos was taken from an Italian book: History of Chinese Photography: Western Photographers 1861-1879) by French photographer Paul· Paul Champion took photos from 1865 to 1866, which belong to the early real historical photos of China. I have released the Wuhan part of this group of photos before, which should be considered the earliest old photos of Wuhan. See:A group of old photos of Wuhan in 1865, the earliest known real historical images of Wuhan.

The Beijing part of this group of photos is shown below. Welcome to preview:

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1865年北京，宣武门城门附近。元代叫顺承门。位于正阳门以西，俗称“顺治门”。1921年拆除箭楼及关帝庙，1930年拆瓮城。1965年城楼拆除。

1865年北京，前门五牌楼车水马龙，店铺林立。此时人力车还没传入，出行和拉货的都是骡马轿车

1865年北京，颐和园众香界与智慧海

1865年北京，一个官轿的几名轿夫正在席地而坐，已获得片刻歇息。

1865年北京，街道

1865年北京，一名可怜的乞丐，头发杂乱，浑身肮脏不堪，全身只着几缕破布。

1865年北京，年轻的剃头匠正在给客人盘鞭子。

1865年北京，玩具小贩正在出售他的玩具

1865年北京，鞋匠及简陋的修鞋摊子

1865年北京，四名艺人正在表演

1865年北京，穿着厚重冬季装束抽着旱烟的老人

1865年北京，两位穿着冬季衣服的老人边抽旱烟边下象棋