Peter the Great is one of the few foreign historical figures known to almost every Chinese. His image was widespread in China in the previous centuries and remains popular today. The purpose of this study is to examine the appearance of the first mentions of Peter I and the occurrence of his image in China, to analyze the specifics of lifetime assessments of his activities and to study the process of sociocultural representation and adaptation of the image of the Russian emperor. For this purpose, the author of the article makes an attempt to comprehend and analyze the materials contained in the travel journals of Tulišen , a Qing diplomat, who in 1712-1715 crossed almost the whole Russia in order to visit the Kalmyk ruler Ayukа Khan. His journals present the first mention of Peter I in China. Of utmost importance is the fact that Tulišen describes and assesses many aspects of the political and military activities of the Russian tsar, which he learned about during his travel. He also gives a detailed description of the various aspects of Russia’s life at that time and the peculiarities of its state and administrative structure. Thanks to Tulišen’s “Records from the Mission to the Remote Borderlands” ( Yiyu lu ), the first true perception of Russia and Peter the Great emerged in China.