The Battle of Palikao (French: Le Combat de Palikao, Chinese: 八里橋之戰; pinyin: Bālǐqiáo zhī zhàn; literally: "Battle of the Eight-Mile Bridge") was fought at the bridge of Palikao by Anglo-French forces against China during the Second Opium War on the morning of 21 September 1860. It allowed Western forces to take the capital Beijing and eventually defeat the Qing Empire.