A film titled 'A time for peace' about the United States President Richard Nixon's visit to Asia and Europe. An aircraft with a sign on the fuselage that reads 'The spirit of 72'. Aircraft taxis after landing in Peking, China. President Richard Nixon and First Lady Pat Nixon get off the aircraft. Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai greets the President. Officials greet the President. An honor guard salutes the President as a band plays.
Visit of U.S. Secretary of State Dr. Henry Kissinger to People's Republic of China. Air plane of Dr. Kissinger at the Peking airport and security guards around it . A motorcade of Dr. Kissinger and American delegates arrives at the airport. Dr. Kissinger gets out with the Foreign Minister and shakes hands with Chinese dignitaries near the plane. The dignitaries talk to each other, shake hands and smile. Dr. Kissinger walks up the ramp of the plane. He turns and waves towards Chinese dignitaries at the runway.
Opening scene shows formation of Japanese Mitsubishi G3M bombers in flight. View of bombardier at bomb sight inside a bomber. Bombs falling from the aircraft, upon the Chinese city of Shanghai, on a day in September, 1937. Ground level view of bomb exploding and Chinese civilians running for cover. A huge explosion throwing earth up. Aerial view of smoke rising from bomb strikes below. More ground views of bombs destroying structures. Chinese people fleeing across a bridge. Cluster of bombs falling from a Japanese airplane. More explosions and destruction. view from a G3M bomber, of others with bombs falling from them. View from above of civilians filling a street as they run for shelter. People on the ground rushing in all directions. Some are in horse-drawn carriages with luggage on top and other in rickshaws, apparently fleeing the city altogether. Bombing victims lying on the ground near destroyed structures. Heavy dark smoke rising from the attacks. Scene shifts to Japanese army officers entering the Yasukuni shrine in Tokyo. Behind them is A Shinto Tori (Gate) and behind that, the monument (statue) of Omura Masujiro. Scene shifts again, to view of the Temple of Heaven, an ancient Imperial Sacrificial Altar in Peking (Beijing) China. Chinese agriculture. Crowds of Chinese people. Stone statue of traditional Chinese lion. Picture of 1851 oil-on-canvas painting by the German American artist Emanuel Gottlieb Leutze, of Washington crossing the Delaware. Drawing of 15th century ship similar to one in Columbus'1492 voyage to America. Drawing of Roman Empire era building. Michelangelo’s statue of Moses. Drawing of ancient Egyptian pyramid and statue. Drawing of Chinese city and environs representing 4 thousand years ago. Extant ancient Chinese shrines and statues. Animated Relief map of China and surrounding countries of U.S.S.R., India,Burma,Thailand, Indo-China, Philippines, and Japan. Animation outlines China Proper. It also shows Manchuria and scenes from there of desolate mountainous land, with miners at work extracting raw materials. Mongolia and Sinkiang are outlined. The Gobi desert is seen with a long camel caravan crossing it. Closeup of nomads transporting animal skins by camel. The last region outlined is Tibet. The ice covered Himalayan mountains are shown. Buddhist monks praying in the courtyard of a shrine in Tibet. The Yellow, Si Kiang, and Yangtze Rivers are shown on the map. Views of Chinese sailing vessels.
Flag of the Republic of China (ROC) flying. Map shows travel routes between West Coast USA and Shanghai or British colony of Hong Kong. A seaplane or flying boat takes off. Seaplane flying over Golden Gate Bridge. Chinese American women wave at plane. Aerial view of a palace, pagoda, and surrounding grounds in China. Animated map comparing the sizes of United States and China. Yankee clippers underway at sea. Map shows position of Canton (Guangzhou). View of Canton harbor from a ferry. View of ferry's rail. Map of Beijing, also known as Peking or Peiping. Streets and buildings in Beijing.
United States Marine Corps in Beijing (Peiping), in China. Farmlands and Chinese civilians in countryside. A Chinese farmer carries a bamboo carrying pole. Children give the camera a thumbs up. Grave barrows in the countryside. Various tourist attractions in Beijing, including Tiananmen Gate (Dongcheng, China, 100051). Marines stands by an artillery gun. Gate of the United States consulate in Beijing. Marines seated around a large gate. Rickshaws and cars pass by on streets of Peking. Point of view shot traveling down city street in China in a rickshaw with head of rickshaw driver immediately in front. Marines look at handicrafts being display at roadside.
Chinese woman threshes millet at a Chinese commune during the Great Leap Forwards. A young Chinese girl hold millet or corn stalks. Elderly men carry armfuls of husks. Students Peking Universities and high schools (now Beijing) laboring on the weekend as duty to the Great Leap Forward. Young Chinese men and women digging soil with shovels and carrying soil in baskets slung between poles. Donkeys pulling carts on a road. People follow donkey carts to pick up vegetables or seeds as part of a no waste policy associated with the Leap Forward. Rural road north of Beijing as seen from a moving vehicle. People cycling past a workers’ apartment. Camel caravans transporting goods and herd of goats on road. A Chinese man stands beside a camel. The Great Wall of China extending over a mountain range. Goats gathered on top of a stone with Chinese characters written on it that translate to, "Support the Convservation Program." A Chinese man stands on the Great Wall of China. A white American man walking on the Great Wall of China.