Early 1830s.
Long time no see comes from Canton's pidgin english
(pidgin is from the chinese pronunciation of business)
Canton = today's Ghangzhou.
British lived in Canton in secluded spaces that were 100% European.
But this is not India: the british are not in charge here. The space was rented and carefully controlled by the Chinese.
Foreigners were not permitted in the cities themselves.
Opium wars ended in 1842, with a treaty dictated by the British.
Textbooks in China set the beginning of their modern period in the opium wars.
The war was mostly symbolic: not really destructive to China.
China had the moral high ground.
European's respected China a lot. China held all the cards in commerce. Unlike India.
When britains went to work for the East India Company overseas, it was India who attracted the administrators, military adventurers, etc. The bean counters went to Canton.
Coastal officials in China knew they weren't up to the British. They were just naive by thinking that trade would be a pacifying force.