There is no doubt that it was not the European Arms Conference that attracted the attention of the world in 1849, so what else could have caught the attention of the whole world? Thai Emperor Lin Hong is standing in front of the answer at this moment.

Changchun Garden, is now the location of the Old Summer Palace ruins, because the Old Summer Palace was not burned down by the British and French forces, so Lin Hong selected the North Boundary of Changchun Garden with Western style in the Old Summer Palace to delineate the area of the exhibition hall, a district of European garden architecture in the north boundary of Changchun Garden, commonly known as "Western Building", composed of more than ten buildings and gardens such as Harmonious Fun, Line Bridge, Ten Thousand Flowers Array, Bird Cage, Square Appearance, Haiyan Hall, Yuanying View, Da Shui Law, Water View Law, Line Law Mountain and Line Law Wall.

The "Western Building" began to be planned in the 12th year of Qianlong (1747) and was basically completed in the 24th year (1759). It was designed and guided by Western missionaries Lang Shining, Jiang Youren, Wang Zhicheng, etc., and built by Chinese craftsmen. The architectural form is the "Baroque" style of the late European Renaissance, and the garden form is the "Le Nôtre" style. However, in terms of gardening and architectural decoration, it has also absorbed many traditional Chinese techniques. The building materials are mostly white marble, the stone surface is finely carved, and the roof is covered with glazed tiles. The main body of the Western building is actually an artificial fountain, which is called the "water law". It is characterized by a large number, a large momentum, and a strange idea. It mainly forms three large fountain groups of Harmony Fun, Haiyan Hall and Dashui Law.

The Old Summer Palace, the treasure of the Chinese nation, the miracle of mankind in the world, is now the palace of Lin Hong and Liu Xiaoyu, (people are not very familiar with the layout of the Old Summer Palace, forgive me) Lin Hong looked at the twelve zodiac bronze heads in front of Haiyan Hall, his eyes will always be unconsciously moistened, that is the eternal pain of the future generations.

The Crystal Palace, where the World Exposition was held in the United Kingdom, was built not far from the Haiyan Hall. In order to follow Lin Hong's gaze, a building rising from the ground on the lawn was extremely dazzling. In the early morning sun, a shining building reflects thousands of bands of light. The morning sun rises in the forest, and the golden sunlight emits a thousand rays of light under the reflection of countless pieces of glass. The workers are still busy in the inaugurated Crystal Palace, and compared to the tall Crystal Palace, they are like industrious ants, busy for the opening of the Universal Exposition.

Baron Chen Kejie, the Prime Minister next to Lin Hong (Lin Hong conferred the knighthood on him after the approval of the National Assembly after the Armaments Conference) was giving the emperor a detailed introduction: "Your Majesty, this great building in front of you will be the main venue of the World Exposition in three days. The building, which rivals the Imperial Palace of Congress, is about 224.4 meters wide and 564 meters long. A total of 5 collapses, three floors high. The palace is glazed with a surprising amount of glass, so what you see is one of the most beautiful buildings in the world, and we rightly call it the Crystal Palace. "Britain had to postpone their World Expo because of the huge amount of military spending invested in the arms race, so Lin Hong took the lead.

An intoxicated smile appeared on the empress's face, she turned her head sideways and spread her hands to Lin Hong and smiled: "My dear, is this the glory of our Chinese Empire!" Look at that! How magnificent he is. ”

"Indeed, at the World Exposition on May 1, the Chinese Empire will show the world how powerful it is." Lin Hong smiled and kissed the queen affectionately on the cheek.

At this time, Zeng Guofan, the foreign minister of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, walked over quickly. He was so fast that he almost trotted to the park. He gasped and crossed a few graceful peonies in the park, stopped in front of Chen Kejie and said, "Your Excellency, foreign envoys attending the expo have arrived. ”

"Okay, let's go and meet you!" ——

A merchant ship flying the British flag slowly approached the shore, and a * cable was thrown off the ship, and soon the huge steam-engine ship came to a steady anchor on the dock.

After a 15-year absence, Palmerston has set foot on Chinese soil again, and Tianjin has changed a lot compared to 15 years ago. In the past 15 years, the great power of industry has nourished the entire Chinese society, the appearance and temperament of Chinese society have undergone profound changes, nearly 30% of China's population has flocked to the city, a large number of people have made the streets of Tianjin bustling, the front and back horse-drawn carriages have almost blocked the entire street, and luxurious buildings have appeared in this world-class metropolis in a surprising degree. Although the bustling port of Dagu is crowded and noisy, it appears to be orderly under the maintenance of the customs. There was an indescribable smell floating in the air, and the gray clouds in the sky corresponded to it. That's the dust that accumulates in the sky around the clock.

Palmerston looked everything right and left, his nose filled with the scents of the harbor, and his eyes were full of people. Maybe it had just rained in Tianjin, and the concrete floor on the street was a little slippery. Chinese in various hats hurriedly walked through the wet streets, and from time to time foreigners with luggage disembarked from the steamer, they looked and walked with excitement and curiosity to the neighborhoods of Tianjin. Some children inexplicably interspersed with the crowd to create crowding.

Because London is a crowded city, the air is not clean and the sky is gray like Tianjin, but what London does not have is Tianjin's clean cement pavement and seemingly congested but orderly pedestrian traffic.

At this time, Palmerston saw his acquaintance Xu Jiji in the crowded crowd, Xu Jiji was a famous minister and scholar in the late Qing Dynasty in history, and the New York Times called him the Oriental Galileo. Historically, it was he who wrote the famous inscription on the Washington Monument in the United States: "Washington, Inhuman also." The courage to win the wide, the division of the male in Cao Liu, has raised the three-foot sword, opened up thousands of miles, is not to usurp the title, not to pass on the descendants, but to create the law of recommendation, several than the world for the public, the will of three generations"

Palmerston stepped forward to hug Xu Jiji and said: "I can't imagine that after more than ten years of development, China has made such enviable achievements. China is such an amazing country! ”

"Thank you for your compliment, my country attaches great importance to our friendship with the great nation of Great Britain, and welcomes you. Come on! I'll take you to the British Consulate in Tianjin, and tomorrow we'll go to Beijing and take you to the World Exposition. ”

"Okay, I can't wait to see what the newspaper says about the beautiful palace."

This time, Palmerston brought a large number of products from England to the exhibition, from sewing machines, clocks, wired telegraphs and other traditional products of British industry, as well as a large number of special products and commodities from the British colonies. These things, large and small, were loaded with several wagons, and they would be transported to the Tianjin Railway Station to be transported by train to the Crystal Palace.

Envoys from France and the United States had already arrived in Beijing with exhibits from their own countries, and in the coming days the vassals and protectorates of the empire, including Korea, Japan, and Abyssinia, would arrive in Tianjin with exhibits