Having established his reputation as a professional photographer documenting military conflicts in the Crimea and India during the 1850s, Italian-born Felice Beato arrived in China in March 1860 during the final months of the Second Opium War. Accompanying the Anglo-French expeditionary force, which went on to seize Beijing and force the Chinese Empire to accede to sweeping political and economic demands, Beato’s views, combining topographical and military information, provided a visual record of the Imperial campaign. They were often included in ‘progress’ reports sent from Hong Kong to the commanding officer of the British army.

Beato also sold his images of China to British officers as unmounted prints with his stock number, title, and date written in pencil on the verso of each print. By assembling a selection of images, the purchaser could construct a personal visual record. As early as 1861, illustrations of the prints also appeared in contemporary journals such as The Illustrated London News and published memoirs. By 1862, the commercial portrait photographer Henry Hering offered them for sale by subscription. It is thought that this view is a 'Hering' copy.