Across Asia from West to East in 1906–1908

One hundred years ago, the Finnish military and political leader Gustaf Mannerheim, as an officer in the Russian army, made a legendary reconnaissance and research expedition across Asia to Peking. The goal of the expedition was, in addition to conducting ethnographic and natural science research, to map marching routes from Russia to China, as well as to collect military intelligence about China. Mannerheim kept a diary of the journey and described in detail his observations of geography, culture, economy and politics, as well as the difficulties of the expedition and his own disappointments.