Foreign Soldiers (& a Chinese cop) in 1910 Peking

Posted: May 3rd, 2025 | No Comments »

A series of pictures from 1910 showing representatives of the foreign troops stationed in the city as well as a Chinese policeman. I’m no expert on matters military but a few things to note:

• The American soldier is probably a Marine? (said I’m not much good on military stuff) – the Marines were normally the Legation Guard though at various points during and after the Boxer Uprising the 9th and 14th Infantry Regiments, the 6th Cavalry Regiment, and Battery F of the 5th Field Artillery Regiment were also stationed in Peking I think;

• The Russian soldier is of course in a Tsarist uniform;

• These photos were taken by a British soldier in Peking so he didn’t take any of his own mates – but, of course, in 1910 the “Indian Soldier” is a member of the British Indian Army from (I think again!) the 1st Regiment of Sikh Infantry.

• The Italian soldier is a Marine (Marina Militare) of the Regia Marina. The Boxer Protocols agreed that the Regia Marina would be the force to oversee Italian interests in China post-1900, hence the Italian Legation Guard was made up of Italian Marines (despite being 70 miles inland), who also oversaw the old fort at Shanhaiguan.

• The Chinese policeman is wearing the final uniform design of the Qing Dynasty which would be gone within a year.

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