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What territory did China cede to Britain after the Second Opium War?
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opium trade
The clipper ship Le-Rye-Moon, built for the opium trade, 19th-century wood engraving from the Illustrated London News.
Following the conclusion of the Second Opium War (1856–1860), China was forced to cede the southern portion of the Kowloon Peninsula to Great Britain under the terms of the Beijing Convention in 1860. This territory, located south of what is now Boundary Street, along with Stonecutters Island, was ceded to provide the British with more complete control over the harbor adjacent to Hong Kong Island, which had been ceded earlier following the first Opium War.123