information:extraction, linguistic:paraphrasing
Russia

In the autumn of 1618, the first Russian ambassadors arrived in Beijing. Led by Ivan Petlin, a group of Siberian Cossacks had been sent to China by the Tobolsk voivode Ivan Kurakin on the orders of Tsar Mikhail Fyodorovich. The journey began in May 1618 from Tomsk and involved crossing the mountains on the Russian-Mongolian border, passing through Mongolia and the Gobi, and finally arriving in Beijing in early September. However, due to the lack of gifts or credentials, the Cossacks were not granted an audience with the emperor by Ming officials. Despite this, they were warmly received at the Ministry of Rites and were given a letter from the Wanli Emperor, agreeing to future Russian missions and the arrival of Russian merchants. After a few days, the Russians began their return journey, arriving back in Tomsk in May 1619 and eventually reaching Moscow by the end of the year. However, due to Russia's focus on European affairs, there were no further official contacts with China until the end of the Ming dynasty.