The Chinese government sent its first group of students to America, following Rong Hong’s proposal and considering the fact that the U.S. was the only country accepting Chinese students based on the Burlingame Treaty (amending the Treaty of Tianjin of 1858) after it was signed by envoys Zhi Gang (志刚) and Sun Jiagu (孙家谷) in the 7th year of Emperor Tongzhi’s reign.