Hundred Days' Reform in the First Sino-Japanese War in 1894–1895, not long after the First (1839–1842) and Second (1856–1860) Opium Wars; this blow came as a major shock to the Chinese, because Japan had been regarded as a tributary state, was much smaller than China, and was regarded as inferior. China also fought France in the Sino-French War from 1884 to 1885. Moreover, the defeat of China by Japan led to a scramble for "privileges" in China by other foreign powers, notably by the German Empire and Russia, further awakening the conservatives. Before the First Sino-Japanese War, China engaged in technological modernization only,
Immigration to China Immigration to China Immigration to the People's Republic of China is small, and made up mostly of around 300,000 ethnic Chinese immigrating to China from Vietnam in the late 1970s. Immigration has increased modestly since the opening up of the country and the liberalisation of the economy, mostly of people moving to the large cities and to Hong Kong. Many of the foreign nationals who immigrate to China are of Chinese ethnic heritage. The only significant immigration to China has been by the Overseas Chinese, who in the years since 1949 have been offered various enticements to return to their