History glossary
Rehe
the imperial retreat north of Beijing where the Xianfeng Emperor fled in 1860.
- Category
- Imperial retreat
- Region
- Northern China
- Date range
- 1860-1861
What it means
Rehe, also known as Jehol and associated with Chengde, was an imperial retreat north of Beijing. The Xianfeng Emperor fled there as Anglo-French forces advanced on Beijing in 1860, a sign of how far Qing authority had been shaken by the Second Opium War.
Related terms
Stories using this term
The Opium Wars
From the Canton System to the fall of Beijing, the Opium Wars turned illegal trade, imperial power and Qing weakness into a new unequal treaty order.
The Qing Dynasty
From Manchu conquest to republican revolution, the Qing dynasty built China's largest empire, oversaw centuries of prosperity, and then struggled to survive foreign intervention, rebellion, and the collapse of imperial legitimacy.
