Entering the courtyard gate of the embassy, you are greeted by a typical office building in the Russian style of the 50s, with a circular protrusion on the roof and a high flagpole in the middle, on which the red, blue and white flags of the Russian Federation are hung.

In front of the building is a huge circular fountain pool.

Our car drove past the building along the tree-shaded asphalt road into the inner courtyard, which was rarely seen by outsiders.

Although, I know that the Embassy of the Russian Federation is the largest among the embassies in Beijing. But I was amazed by the size of the hinterland inside.

The buildings in the courtyard are scattered, and the towering trees and neatly built lawns complement each other, and the scenery is beautiful and pleasant. In addition to the office and residential buildings, there is also a huge artificial lake.

Around the artificial lake, there are sports grounds, an amphitheater, a well-equipped children's playground, a tennis center, an Orthodox chapel...... There is also a small manicured garden on the hill.

What I didn't expect the most was that on the east side of the embassy there was a small Chinese courtyard with blue bricks and blue tiles, and the round gate to enter a typical Chinese courtyard was a row of houses with old Chinese architecture inside.

Now, let me introduce the Embassy of the Russian Federation in Beijing, where this legend is full of stories!

The Embassy of the Russian Federation in the People's Republic of China (ПосольствоРоссиивКНР) is located at No. 4, Dongzhimen Beizhong Street (formerly Dongjiaomin Lane), Dongcheng District, Beijing, China. The Plenipotentiary represents the Government of the Russian Federation in charge of consular affairs, diplomatic, trade, culture, education and other matters in China.

In the 17th century, Russia began to develop Eastern Siberia, and the initial contact between China and Russia turned out to be some border armed conflicts. The most famous of these was the capture of the Albazin fortress on the Amur River by Chinese troops in 1685, and the escort of 45 Russian prisoners to Beijing.

Thus began the history of Russian life in China. Although the Chinese collectively call them Russians, they also have descendants of Buryats, Kalmyks and mestizos.

They were placed in the Dongzhimen, and the Kangxi Emperor incorporated them into the army, subordinate to the Yellow Banner, known as the "Russian Team".

The prisoners of war received the same housing as the Chinese officers and soldiers, received subsistence and were allocated arable land, and the bachelors married Chinese women and allocated a temple to them for prayer.

Priest Maxim? Leontiev (he was the first Orthodox priest in China) converted it into a chapel, where he remained a priest until 1695.

At this time, Russia learned about the activities of Father Maxim and about his efforts to maintain the faith of the prisoners of war. The Russian government and religious circles were concerned about their fate, and the Russian tsar begged the Chinese emperor to release the prisoners of war or allow them to build their own church in Beijing.

In 1696 Father Maxim, together with the clergy from Russia, founded the Church of St. Sophia, which is also known as the Church of St. Nicholas.

On June 18, 1700, Peter the Great ordered the establishment of a mission in Peking.

This was the first document of the Tsarist government to deal with the organization of missions, and it emphasized that Russians had to learn the local language, culture, and customs, which was in line with Russia's political and commercial interests in China. From the very beginning, the Russian Mission in Beijing became not only the center of the Orthodox Church, but also the center of Russian scholars studying China.

The history of the Russian Embassy in China is inextricably linked to the history of the Russian Mission in China more than 250 years ago.

In the early Sino-Russian exchanges, because Russia and China did not have diplomatic relations, the clergy of the mission served as the unofficial representatives of the Russian government in China for a long time.

In addition, the mission made great contributions to the scientific study of China by the Russians, and trained a large number of world-renowned sinologists.