On February 21, 1972, at 10:30
P.M., EST, Richard M. Nixon stepped down from Air
Force One alone and offered his hand to Premier
Chou En-lai to consummate one of the most historic
handshakes in diplomatic history, in what Henry
Kissinger termed "splendid solitude." Later that
day, Nixon would meet the aging Chairman, Mao Tse-tung.
