In 1860, during the Second Opium War, a combined Anglo-French expeditionary forces, having marched inland from the coast at Tianjin (Tientsin), arrived in Beijing (Peking).[citation needed]
In mid-September, two envoys, Henry Loch and Harry Parkes went ahead of the main force under a flag of truce to negotiate with Prince Yi and representatives of the Qing Empire at Tongzhou (Tungchow) and to scout out campsites behind enemy lines. The delegation included Thomas William Bowlby, a journalist for ...