Finally understood why Li Hongzhang didn't say a word when he visited the United States. He just had nothing to say, not wanting to say it.
1896, that is, in the 22nd year of the Guangxu period, Li Hongzhang, who had never heard of the word bicycle, came to New York and saw the skyscrapers all over the streets. On the bustling streets, cars and trams came and went. When he was wondering how such a tall building man got on, the elevators had been used for 42 years in 1901, that is, in the 27th year of the Guangxu period,
Empress Dowager Cixi got into a car for the first time, the world's first hanging type. monorail train has been put into use in Germany. In the same year, the number of cars in the United States reached 10%, while electric vehicles accounted for 20%. At that time, the range of electric vehicles in the United States had reached 140 kilometers. During this visit to the United States, Li Hongzhang saw tall buildings that he had never seen before. We should be able to understand the sadness at that time. After Li Hongzhang returned to China, he began to promote the Westernization Movement and piloted the internal system reform of the late Qing government. Due to the corruption of the government at that time, failure was inevitable. In 1901, Li Hongzhang returned to China for less than five years after visiting the United States. He died because he was determined to die. What would he think if he saw China now?
