| One of the exhibits, "Letter by Qiying to Hong Kong Governor John Francis Davis".
Qiying was the leading Qing official responsible for the negotiations for and signing of the Treaty of Nanking. From 1844 to 1848, as Governor-General of Guangdong and Guangxi, he and John Francis Davis negotiated issues such as foreigners' entry to Guangzhou and the return of Zhoushan to China. Davis was the second Governor of Hong Kong as well as the Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to China at the time. In this letter, Qiying writes, "the entry issue is a small one; Zhoushan is much more important". His plan was to allow British people to enter the city of Guangzhou in exchange for the return of Zhoushan. Located close to Shanghai, Zhoushan occupies a strategic position at the mouth of the Yangtze River. The letter was translated into English by Karl Gutzlaff, a German missionary who was appointed Chinese Secretary to the Colonial Government of Hong Kong in 1843.
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