In May 1858, when the Anglo-French Allied Forces seized Tianjin, Tsarist Russia took the opportunity to send its troops into Aigun (Aihui) as the threat of force to the Qing government, forcing Yishan, the general stationed in the town, to sign this treaty. The treaty ceded to Tsarist Russia more than 600,000 km ²  of Chinese land north of Heilong River and south of the Stanovoy Range, with only 64 villages east of the Heilong River kept under China's control. It also brought 400,000 km ²  of Chinese territory east of the Wusuli River under "joint administration" by the two countries. It granted Russia the right of navigation on the Heilong, Songhua and Wusuli rivers. The signing of the treaty severely infringed upon China's territorial sovereignty.

Text of the Treaty of Aigun, stereotype edition by Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of China