17 Erhard after Dufour – Plan of Beijing and the Surrounding Region / Plan de Pékin – Environs de Pékin – Hand-Colored Lithograph (c.1870s)

This pair of 19th-century maps includes a city plan of Beijing (Plan de Pékin) and a topographical map of the greater region (Environs de Pékin), both published in Paris around the 1870s by Monrocq and engraved by Erhard. The upper map details the imperial layout of Qing-era Beijing, including the Ville Tartare, Ville Chinoise, and the Forbidden City (Ville Impériale), with fortifications, main roads, temples, and gates clearly marked. The lower map shows the regional geography, highlighting mountains, rivers, towns, and parts of the Great Wall of China, labeled as Muraille de la Chine. These maps reflect the growing European cartographic interest in China during the late Qing Dynasty.