Nerchinsk Museum of Local Lore - Butin Palace

What travelers say:

In 1689, the Qing Dynasty representatives Soeto and the Yuan Guogang signed the Nebuchu Treaty with the Russians, which stipulated that the Hinggan Mountains, Gerbiz River and Erguna River outside the east belong to Russia to the north and China to the south. In this treaty, both Qing and Russian sides believe that they have made major concessions, which also laid a foundation for Russia to swallow the northeast again more than 100 years later. After the treaty was signed, the outer Hinggan Mountains became a boundary mountain, called the "Stanov Mountains" in Russian vocabulary; Nebuchu became the "Nerchensk." the treaty's duration depended on the strength of the two sides, and when the Qing Dynasty entered the middle and late stages, the old empire was unable to resist a Tsarist comeback. After the outbreak of the Second Opium War, the British and French forces advanced from the southeast coast to the Beijing division, and the emperor Xianfeng fled to the Rehe River. The Russians who witnessed this began to rob. The Russians crossed the border and invaded south, and soon occupied the vast area south of Hinggan Mountain and north of Heilongjiang.