October 1860 - The Sacking of the Summer Palace in Beijing

Dates That Made History • Season 2 • Episode 12

About this episode

The capture and looting of Emperor Qing Xianfeng's two summer palaces in Beijing (Peking) was the culmination of the Second Opium War; pitting the colonial powers of France and the United Kingdom against China. Yet it was also a double-edged sword.