A. Series


Feng Keli, ed. Lao zhaopian (Old photographs) 老照片. Jinan: Shandong Huabao Chubanshe, 1996–.
A series of books featuring articles with photographs "more than 20 years old" as small black-and-white reproductions. The most recent issue is number 50, published in 2006.

Lao chengshi xilie = Old City Series 老城市系列. Nanjing: Jiangsu Meishu Chubanshe. 1998–2009.
Using photographs and visual materials in local and national archives and libraries, the authors introduce many cultural and social aspects of each "old" city. Heavily illustrated with small-scale images, these books depict the history of each city. Some books feature major buildings, while others focus more on cultural or folkloric aspects.

  • Huang Ai Dongxi. Lao Guangzhou: Jisheng fanying (Old Guangzhou: Shoe sounds and sail shadows) 老广州: 屐声帆影. 1999.
  • Huang Jire. Lao Chongqing: Bashan yeyu (Old Chongqing: Bashan Mountain in raining night) 老重庆: 巴山夜雨. 1999.
  • Lin Xi. Lao Tianjin: Jin men jiushi (Old Tianjin: Old stories around the gate) 老天津: 津门旧事. 1998.
  • Wu Liang. Lao Shanghai: Yishi di shiguang (Old Shanghai: Past times) 老上海: 已逝的时光. 1998.
  • Xu Chengbei. Lao Beijing: Bianzou qianmen (Old Beijing: Symphonies of the main gate) 老北京: 变奏前门. 2000.
  • Xu Chengbei. Lao Beijing: Xiangmo minfeng (Old Beijing: Streets and customs) 老北京: 巷陌民风. 1999.


English editions of Lao chengshi xilie, 2001–3.

  • Jia Pingao. Old Xi'an: Evening Glow of an Imperial City. Beijing: Foreign Languages Press, 2001.
  • Ma Lihua. Old Lhasa: A Sacred City at Dusk. Beijing: Foreign Languages Press, 2003.
  • Wu Liang. Old Shanghai: A Lost Age. Beijing: Foreign Languages Press, 2001.
  • Xu Chengbei. Old Beijing: In the Shadow of Imperial Throne. Beijing: Foreign Languages Press, 2001.
  • Ye Zhaoyan. Old Nanjing: Reflections of Scenes on the Qinhuai River. Beijing: Foreign Languages Press, 2003.


Qin Feng, ed. Ni meijianguo de lishi zhaopian (Historical photographs you have never seen) 你沒见过的历史照片. Jinan: Shandong Huabao Chubanshe, 2003.
The photographs in this volume are mostly post-1911; the only pre-1911 images are of the funeral of Cixi, a British aristocrat in Hong Kong, and Li Hongzhang in 1900.

Wang Fang, and Shi Ren. Bainian lao zhaopian (Old photographs over the past one hundred years) 百年老照片. 4 vols. Beijing: Jingji Ribao Chubanshe, 1997–98.
This four-volume series is a collection of photographs that date from as early as the 1860s until after 1949; it includes small-size black-and-white reproductions with texts.

Zhongguo mingcheng bainian = China Famous City Centenary 中国名城百年系列. Beijing: People's Fine Art's Publishing House.

  • Chongqing shi bowuguan bian. Chongqing jiuying = Old Photographs of Chongqing 重庆旧影. 1998.
  • Fu Gongyue, ed. Beijing jiuying = Old Photographs of Beijing
  • 北京旧影. 1997.
  • Guangzhou Museum. Guangzhou jiuying = Old Photographs of Guangzhou 广州旧影. 1998.
  • Hong Puren, ed. Xiamen jiuying = Old Photographs of Xiamen 厦门旧影. 1999.
  • Huang Gangzheng, ed. Changsha jiuying = Old Photographs of Changsha 长沙旧影. 2001.
  • Li Jialin, ed. Tianjin jiuying = Old Photographs of Tianjin 天津旧影. 2000.
  • Li Shuxiao zhu bian. Ha'erbin jiuying = Old Photographs of Harbin 哈尔滨旧影. 2000.
  • Liu Fenglou and Li Guizhong, eds. Changchun jiuying = Old Photographs of Changchun 长春旧影. 2003.
  • Li Yuanqi, ed. Dalian jiuying = Old Photographs of Dalian 大连旧影. 2000.
  • Wang Nengwei, Ma Bolun, and Liu Xiaofan, eds. Nanjing jiuying = Old Photographs of Nanjing. 1993.
  • Wuhan shi danganguan and Wuhan Shi bowuguan, eds. Wuhan jiuying = Old Photographs of Wuhan 武汉旧影. 1999.
  • Xu Dongsheng, ed. Taiyuan jiuying = Old Photographs of Taiyuan 太原旧影. 2000.
  • Yan Lijin, ed. Qingdao jiuying = Old Photographs of Qingdao 青岛旧影. 2004.
  • Yan Qiang and Wang Jinhuan, eds. Jinan jiuying = Old Photographs of Jinan 济南旧影. 2001.
  • Ye Shuping and Zuan Zheng, comps. Shanghai jiuying = Old Photographs of Shanghai 上海旧影. 1998.
  • Zeng Yidan bian zhuan. Fuzhou jiuying = Old Photographs of Fuzhou 福州旧影. 2000.


B. Cities and Regions; see also the Series section above


Beijing (Peking)

Beijing Lao Tianqiao (Old Tianqiao in Beijing) 北京老天桥. Beijing: Beijing Chubanshe, 1996.
This book reprints historical photographs taken in Tianqiao, an area in Beijing famous for its recreational activities, entertainment business, commerce, and medical treatments.

Chen Yubian. Yiheyuan jiuying = The Summer Palace in Old Pictures 颐和园旧影. Beijing: Beijing Yanshan Chubanshe, 2003.

Coltman, Robert, Jr. Beleaguered in Peking: The Boxer's War against the Foreigner. Philadelphia: F.A. Davis Co., 1901.

Dijing jiuying = As Dusk Fell on the Imperial City 帝京旧影. Translated by Wang Dianming. Beijing: Zijincheng Chubanshe, 1994.

Favier, Alphonse. Péking: Histoire et description. Péking: Imprimerie des Lazaristes au Pé-T'ang, 1897.

Fu Gongyue, Zhang Hongjie, and Yuan Tiancai, eds. Jiujing daguan = Old Beijing in Panorama 舊京大觀. Beijing: Renmin Zhongguo Chubanshe, 1992.

Gu Changjiang and Shen Hong, eds. Lao zhaopian zhong de da Qing wangfu (Qing dynasty palaces in old photos) 老照片中的大清王府. Beijing: Wenhua Yishu Chubanshe, 2006.
This book depicts historical photographs of the imperial palaces other than the Forbidden Palace that served as residence for the imperial family in the city of Beijing. Shen Hong's essay on the provenance and early publications of these photographs provides directions for further scholarly research. He outlines not only the foreign photographers, travelers, and officials who gained access to these palaces in the Qing dynasty and how they used photography but also how these palaces were documented in photography albums made by Chinese universities in the Republican era. Organized under the section of each palace, each photograph is documented with its maker and date.

Han Yong. Images de Pekin: L'illusion de la permanence? = 舊京影像: 持久的幻影? Beijing: China Forestry Publishing House, 2001.
Catalog of a collaborative exhibition between the Beijing Capital Museum and the Musée Albert-Kahn in France. It includes photographs of Beijing in the early twentieth century, both black-and-white and color, with captions in Chinese and French.

Killie, Charles A. 50 Views of the Siege of Peking. n.p., 1900.

Kojima, Sagimaro. View and Custom of North China 北清大観. Tokyo: Tokyo Printing Co., 1909.

Liu Yang. Sanshan wuyuan jiuying (Old photographs of the Imperial Gardens in the northwest of Beijing) 三山五園舊影. Beijing: Xueyuan Chubanshe, 2007.
Photographs of the Imperial Gardens in the northwest of Beijing prior to 1949. Based on multiple historical documents, the book reveals important information about the photos, such as the maker, date, and details of the site and architecture.

Mennie, Donald. The Pageant of Peking: Comprising Sixty-Six Vandyck Photogravures of Peking and Environs from Photographs. Shanghai: Watson, 1920.

Pearce, Nick. "A Life in Peking: The Peabody Albums." History of Photography 31, no. 3 (2007): 276–93.

Pearce, Nick. Photographs of Peking, China 1861–1908: An Inventory and Description of the Yetts Collection at the University of Durham through Peking with a Camera. Lewiston, N.Y.: Edwin Mellen, 2005.

Perckhammer, Heinz v. Peking. Berlin: Albertus, 1928.

Qi Fang and Qi Jiran. Old Peking: The City and Its People. Hong Kong: Hai Feng, 1993.

Sirén, Osvald. The Imperial Palaces of Peking. New York: AMS, 1976.

———. The Walls and Gates of Peking: Researches and Impressions. London: John Lane, 1924.

Tang Jixian, ed. Huangchao modai jingdu tulu = Selection of the Earliest Photos of the Chinese Capital of the Last Dynasty 皇朝末代京都图录. Beijing: Zhongguo Shehui Chubanshe, 1997.

Wu Yuanzhen, Yin Chunmin, and Chen Jian, eds. Beijing Yunjusi yu Shijingshan jiuying (Old photographs of Yunju Temple and Shijing Mountain in Beijing) 北京云居寺与石经山旧影. Guojia tushuguan shanben tecang bu bian. Beijing: Beijing Tushuguan Chubanshe, 2004.
From the special collections of the National Library of China, this photo book of Yunju Temple and Shijing Mountain in suburban Beijing contains fifty-four photographs taken by the French engineer G. Bouillard and reproduces photographs and maps from two rare books. The photographs taken by Bouillard generally date from 1900 to 1910 and document sites and architecture, including temples, pagodas, and tombs from Shijing Mountain.

Xu Chengbei. Old Beijing: People, Houses and Lifestyles. Translated by Huang Youyi and Cong Guoling. Beijing: Foreign Languages Press, 2001.

Yang Wenju. Qingdai Beijing huangcheng xiezhentie (Photographs of the Qing Imperial Palace) 清代北京皇城写真帖. Beijing: Xueyuan Chubanshe, 2009.
This is a paperback reprint of Ogawa Kazumasa's Photographs of Palace Buildings of Peking (see Ogawa entry in the Monograph section), with additional descriptions of the locations and history of the sites depicted.

Yi Fang, ed. Yiheyuan jiu ji = Cultural Remains of Summer Palace 颐和园旧迹. Beijing: Zhongguo Dang'an Chubanshe, 2006.
Reproduced here are one hundred historical photos of the Summer Palace from the late Qing to the early Republican era. Each photo is accompanied with captions in both English and Chinese.

Zhongguo Beijing gongdian sheying (Photographs of the imperial palaces in Bejing) 中國北京宮殿攝影. Beijing: Guwu Chenliesuo, 1911–49.
With no introductory text or essay, this thin volume contains eleven calotypes of views of gates and architecture in the Forbidden City.

Chengdu

Knight, Luther. Huimou lishi: ershi shiji chu yige Meiguoren jingtou zhong de Chengdu = Looking Back at Chengdu: Through the Lens of an American Photographer in the Early 20th Century 回眸历史: 二十世纪初一个美国人镜头中的成都. Beijing: Zhongguo Lü you Chubanshe, 2002.

Guangzhou (Canton)

Turner, J. Arthur. Kwang Tung; or, Five Years in South China. London: S. W. Partridge, 1905.

Hangzhou

Chi Changyao. Xihu jiu zong (Old traits of West Lake) 西湖旧踪. Hangzhou: Zhejiang Renmin Chubanshe, 2000.
This book contains more than 170 historical photographs from the late Qing and Republican periods of the West Lake in Hangzhou, as well as photographs of historical architecture near the lake. Originally published in 1985, this later edition includes 70 additional photographs with identifying captions.

Hong Kong

Bard, Solomon. In Search of the Past: A Guide to the Antiquities of Hong Kong = Xianggang wenwuzhi 香港文物志. Hong Kong: The Urban Council, 1988.

Cheng Po-hung. A Century of Hong Kong Island Roads and Streets. Translated by Paul Levine and Judy Chang. Hong Kong: Joint Pub. (H.K.) Co., 2001.

Cheng Po-hung and Toong Po-Ming. A Century of Kowloon Roads and Streets. Hong Kong: Joint Pub. (H.K.) Co., 2003.

Ding Xinbao, Qiu Xiaojin, and Huang Naikun. Sihuan jiuyue: Bowuguancang lishi tupian jingxuan = City of Victoria: A Selection of the Museum's Historical Photographs 四环九约: 博物馆藏历史图片精选. Hong Kong: Xianggang Lishi Bowuguan, 1999.

Lai, Edwin. "The Dawn of Hong Kong Photography (1839–1910)." Besides 3 (2001): 1–14.

Ping-fai Robert Lam. The Hong Kong Album: A Selection of the Museum's Historical Photographs 博物館藏品精選:香港歷史圖片. Hong Kong: The Urban Council, 1989.

Warner, John. Fragrant Harbor: Early Photographs of Hong Kong 香港早期之圖片. Hong Kong: John Warner Publications, 1979.

———. 百年前之香港 = 100 Years Ago: A Picture-Story of Hong Kong in 1870: Photographs from the Hong Kong Museum of History Collection. Hong Kong: The Urban Council, 1984.

Wiltshire, Trea. Great Cities of the World—Old Hong Kong. Hong Kong: FormAsia, 1991.

Wue, Roberta, Joanna Waley-Cohen, and Edwin K. Lai. Picturing Hong Kong: Photography 1855–1910. New York: Asia Society Galleries, 1997.

Zhongguo guojia bowuguan (Hong Kong Museum of History). Bai zai Xiangjiang fengqing = Bits of Old Hong Kong 百载香江风情. Beijing: Wenwu Chubanshe, 2004.

Macau

Coelho, Beltrão. Album Macau, 1844–1974. Macao: Fundação Oriente, 1989.

Jorge, Cécilia and Beltrão Coelho. Álbum Macau: Sítios, Gentes e Vivências = People, Places and Experiences. Macau: Livros do Oriente, 1990.

———. Álbum Macau: Sítios, Gentes e Vivências = People, Places and Experiences. Macau: Livros do Oriente, 1993.

Nanjing (Nanking)

Sugie, F. Souvenir of Nanking. Shanghai: Ribentang Shudian, 1910.

Ningbo

Zhe Fu, ed. Ningbo jiuying = Old Pictures of Ningbo 宁波旧影. Ningbo: Ningbo Chubanshe, 2004.
Primarily photographs of Ningbo from the mid-nineteenth century to 1949, photographs of architecture and landscape, and custom and commerce, as well as pictures depicting the development of the transportation system, postal service, education system, medical service, and philanthropy in Ningbo. Each picture comes with a caption explaining the historical context.

Qixian

Cao Yu. Qixian lao zhao pian 祁县老照片. Zhongguo li shi wen hua ming cheng. Taiyuan: Shanxi Renmin Chubanshe, 2004.
The three hundred historical images reproduced in this book, which is dedicated to the city of Qixian in Shanxi province, are chosen from public and private collections. In addition to views of the city and homes of prominent families, this publication is especially rich in its selection of studio and group portraits from 1901 through 1949—including portraits of prominent families, famous men, businessmen, schools, and social organizations of Qixian. Many of the images have captions that identify the people, location, date, and source of the image.

Shanghai

Beausoleil, Jeanne, Isabelle Nathan, and Marianne Lepolard. Le Paris de l'orient: Présence française à Shanghai, 1849–1946. Paris: Les Archives du ministère des affaires étrangères et le Musée départemental Albert-Kahn, 2002.

Chen Congzhou and Ming Zhang. Shanghai jindai jianzhu shigao 上海近代建筑史稿. Shanghai: Shanghai Sanlian Shudian, 1988.
This book contains 110 black-and-white reproductions showing the development of architecture in Shanghai from 1880 onward.

Cornet, Christine. Shanghai 1849–1946: La concession française; Chronique photographique. Saint Paul de Varax: Éditions Scheibli, 2001.

Deng Ming, ed. Shanghai bai nian lue ying, 1840s–1940s = Survey of Shanghai from 1840s–1940s 上海百年掠影, 1840s–1940s. Shanghai: Shanghai Renmin Meishu Chubanshe, 1992.

Gamewell, Mary Ninde. The Gateway to China: Pictures of Shanghai. New York: Fleming H. Revell, 1916.

Henriot, Christian, ed. "Virtual Shanghai—Shanghai Urban Space in Time." Institut d'Asie Orientale (IAO) / Institut des Sciences de l'Homme (ISH). http://virtualshanghai.ish-lyon.cnrs.fr/index.php.

Lao Shanghai = Shanghai in Old Days 老上海. Shanghai: Shanghai Jiaoyu Chubanshe, 1998.
This volume contains hundreds of historical pictures from the late Qing to the early Republican periods and is organized in relation to geographical locations. Most images show the architecture or the street scenes in seventeen different neighborhoods in the city, including the Bund, Fuzhou Road, Nanjing Road, Suzhou River, Xujia Hui, and Lao Chengxiang. Each geographical location is introduced with a short essay, and each photograph is accompanied by a brief annotation.

Pan Junxiang and Li Jialin. Zhongguo de zujie = The Foreign Concessions in China 中國的租界. Shanghai: Shanghai Guji Chubanshe, 2004.

Pan, Lynn, Liyong Xue, and Zonghao Qian. Shanghai: A Century of Change in Photographs, 1843–1949. Hong Kong: Hai Feng, 1993.

Pan, Lynn, Liyong Xue, and Zonghao Qian, eds. Shanghai: A Century of Change in Photographs, 1843–1949. Hong Kong: Peace Book, 2005.

Pan Yu. Shanghai Cangsang Yibainian 1843–1949 (The one hundred years of Shanghai 1843–1949) 上海沧桑一百年. Hong Kong: Haifeng Chubanshe, 1996.
Organized chronologically, the 205 photographs in this book reflect the historical development of Shanghai from 1843 to 1949. Each photograph is accompanied by captions, which help to restore their historical and social context.

Qian Zonghao. Bainian huiwang: Shanghai waitan jianzhu yu jingguan de lishi bianqian (Looking back a century: The change of architecture and landscape in the Bund, Shanghai) 百年回望: 上海外滩建筑与景观的历史变迁. Shanghai: Shanghai Kexue Jishu Chubanshe, 2005.

Shanghai Renmin Meishu Chubanshe, ed. Lao shanghai 200 jiuying = Shanghai Remembrances 老上海 200旧影. Shanghai: Shanghai Renmin Meishu Chubanshe, 2006.

Shanghai Shibaoguan. Xin jinghongying (New images of women) 新惊鸿影. Shanghai: Shanghai Shibao Guan, 1914.

Shanghai Shi dang an guan. Cheng shi ji yi: Shanghai li shi fa zhan dang an tu ji = Memory of City: Archival Pictures for the Historical Evolution of Shanghai 城市记忆 : 上海历史发展档案图集. Shanghai: Shanghai Cishu Chubanshe, 2006.

Tang Zhenchang, ed. Shanghai's Journey to Prosperity, 1842–1949. Hong Kong: Commercial Press, 1996.

Sichuan

Sichuan Sheng Renmin Zhengfu Waishi Bangongshi. Lao Sichuan lao zhaopian (Old photographs of old Sichuan) 老四川老照片. n.p., 2002.
More than one hundred photographs taken in Sichuan and Chongqing from 1905 to 1914 by German diplomat Fritz Weiss in China; each image is dated and accompanied by lengthy descriptions and historical notes.

Tianjin (Tientsin)

Koberstein, F. Tientsin und Umgebung. Tientsin: Brigade-Zeitung, 1906.

Tianjin Shi Lishi Bowuguan. Jindai Tianjin tuzhi (Illustrations of late Tianjin) 近代天津图志. Tianjin: Tianjin Guji Chubanshe, 2004.
Representing approximately 1,200 pictures from 1860, when Tianjin became a treaty port, to 1949, this publication is divided into twelve sections under the themes of city views; encounters with the West; concession area; industrialization; business and finance; urban construction; education; technology and culture; liberal arts; natural disaster; social life; and revolutionary struggle. Each picture comes with a brief caption interpreting the event or scenario in the picture.