China: 'New Style Classroom', Anlu, Hubei Province, late Qing / early Republican period, c. 1910

The Qing dynasty, which lasted from 1644 until 1912, was the last imperial dynasty of China. In the 19th century, the dynasty experienced Western imperialism following the First Opium War (1839–42) and the Second Opium War (1856–60) with Britain. China was forced to sign unequal treaties, pay compensation, allow extraterritoriality for foreign nationals, and cede Hong Kong to the British[60] under the 1842 Treaty of Nanking. The First Sino-Japanese War (1894–95) resulted in Qing China's loss of influence in the Korean Peninsula, as well as the cession of Taiwan to Japan.

In 1898, the Guangxu Emperor drafted a reform plan to establish a modern constitutional monarchy, but he was overthrown by the Empress Dowager Cixi in a coup d'état. The ill-fated anti-Western Boxer Rebellion of 1899–1901 further weakened the Qing dynasty. The Xinhai Revolution of 1911–12 brought an end to the Qing dynasty and established the Republic of China.

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