Marching Smartly!

Qing Dynasty: When the Last Chinese Imperial Ship Visited the West! (11.3.2024)

Afterwards, the U.S. Navy repeatedly invited the Qing Dynasty Fleet to visit the United States as a show of friendship. Therefore, on April 11th, 1911, Cheng Biguang (程璧光), the Commander of the “Hai Qi Hao” was ordered to weigh anchor in Shanghai on April 21st – and set sail to the United Kingdom, (thousands of miles away), to attend the Coronation of King George V – and then cross the Atlantic to visit New York, USA. The Baiyang Navy – at the end of the Qing Dynasty – was extremely modernized. The uniforms, Ceremonial Guards, and drill methods of the soldiers were all adopted from the West (specifically the UK). The Officers and soldiers of the “Hai Qi Hao” also cut off their Manchu braided poney-tails – officially integrating with the (modern) Western Navy.

Lenin's Plaque - 1908

Lenin in Tavistock Place (1908) and Great Percy Street (1905) London WC1 (6.4.2018)

We travelled from West Sutton to King’s Cross St Pancreas Station in West Central London, on the hunt for two blue plaques commemorating Lenin’s visits to London in 1905 and 1908. They are affixed to buildings where he stayed (possibly with other Revolutionaries such as Joseph Stalin). My partner Gee used the GPS on her mobile phone and the first plaque we located was in Tavistock Place: