Beers, Burton. China in Old Photographs, 1860–1910. New York: Scribner, 1978.

Bennett, Terry. History of Photography in China 1842–1860. London: Bernard Quaritch, 2009.

Chen Yong, ed. Jiu Zhongguo lueying: 1868–1945 jiu Zhongguo yingxiang dang'an = A Glimpse of Old China: 1868–1945 旧中国掠影: 1868–1945 旧中国影像档案. Beijing: Zhongguo Huabao Chubanshe, 2006.
This book, which contains more than eight hundred photographs dating from 1868 to 1945, is divided into themes such as politics, religion, military, foreign affairs, economy, traffic and communications, historical sites, street scenes, customs, clothes, culture, and photographs of political figures.

Dikötter, Frank. "Chinese Photography—Historical Fragments." http://web.mac.com/dikotter/Dikotter/Chinese_Photography.html.

Fenby, Jonathan. China: The Longest Journey, 1850–1949. Hong Kong: FormAsia, 2008.

Gong Yuan. Guangdong sheying yishuzhi 1843–2006 (Guangdong photography art compilation 1843–2006) 广东摄影艺术志]. Guangzhou: Lingnan Meishu Chubanshe, 2008.
This book summarizes the history of photography and photographic art in Guangdong since the medium's inception. There are eight chapters: photographic creation; photographic groups; photographic exhibitions and contests; photographic theory; photographic development record, selected photographic reviews, essays, and prose; selected papers on photography; and selected photographic works.

Han Suyin and Eric Baschet. China 1890–1938: From the Warlords to the World War; A History in Documentary Photographs. Zug, Switzerland: Swan, 1989.

Hu Zhichuan, ed. Zhongguo bainian sheying tulu, 1844–1979 = A Century of Chinese Photographs, 1844–1979 中国百年摄影图録, 1844–1979. Fuzhou: Fujian Meishu Chubanshe, 1993.
Organized chronologically, this book concerning a century of Chinese photographs contains 174 photos from 1844 to 1911. The first photo in the book is a portrait of Qi Ying and a daguerreotype of the Mazu Temple in Macao taken by Jules Itier in 1844. Notable photographers include Felice Beato, Lai Afong, Liang Shitai, Milton Miller, John Thomson, and Yu Xunlin.

Hu Zhichuan and Chen Shen, eds. Zhongguo jiuying lu: Zhongguo zaoqi sheying zuopin xuan, 1840–1919 = Record of Old Chinese Images: Selections of Early Chinese Photographs, 1840–1919 中国旧影録: 中国早期摄影作品选. Beijing: Zhongguo Sheying Chubanshe, 1999.

Hu Zhichuan and Ma Yunzeng, eds. Zhongguo sheying shi 1840–1937 (History of photography in China 1840–1937) 中国摄影史 1840–1937. Beijing: Zhongguo Sheying Chubanshe, 1987.
The first part of this comprehensive book focuses on the period from the First Opium War to the May Fourth Movement (1840–1919), while the second part restricts its concern to the period 1919–37, when the outbreak of the Sino-Japanese War brought photographic reproduction to a halt. The first part of the book traces early contributions by Chinese regarding the science of optics and explores the advent of photography in China by examining early photographic studios and the development of the photography industry. Besides describing the activities of early Western photographers in China and early publications on photography in Chinese, it also focuses on early Chinese photographers such as Lai Afong, Lin Zhen, Luo Sen, Wu Jiashan, Zou Boqi, and others. Although it does not contain many illustrations, this book positions photography in a larger historical context by citing relevant historical materials.

Lau, Grace. Picturing the Chinese: Early Western Photographs and Postcards of China. South San Francisco, Calif.: Long River, 2009.

Li Boqin and Zheng Lianjie, eds. Zhongguo chuan shi sheying = The Best Photos of China 中国传世摄影. Changchun: Jilin Photography Publishing House, 2003.
This book includes both Chinese and foreign photographers' works on China, organized in chronological order and categorized according to historical events, historical figures, art photos, customs, and people. It has a brief introduction on the history of Chinese photography, in which Lai Afong is mentioned as the first Chinese practitioner to photograph Chinese society.

Lucas, Christopher J. Yesterday's China: A Photographic Portfolio. Taipei: Pacific Cultural Foundation, 1982.

Shanghai sheying shi (History of photography in Shanghai) 上海摄影史. Shanghai: Shanghai Renmin Meishu Chubanshe, 1992.
This book is one of the few that explores the history of photography as related to a particular Chinese city. Using newspaper sources and interviews with individual witnesses who were still alive in the late-1980s, it examines Shanghai's earliest photographic studios, such as Sanxing and Yichang. The book also introduces early Shanghai-based journals and publications of photographs, including Far East and Zhongguo mingsheng (Famous Chinese sites). Notably, the book situates early photography in relation to other visual forms such as lithographs, paintings and drawings, postcards, calendar posters, and press photographs.

Spence, Jonathan D., and Annping Chin. The Chinese Century: A Photographic History 1937–1987. London: Harper Collins, 1996.

Su Zhigang. Zhongguo sheying shilue (A brief history of photography in China) 中国摄影史略. Beijing: Zhongguo Wenlian Chubanshe, 2009.
As a textbook for college students, this book summarizes the history of photography in China since the medium's inception. The main editor, Su Zhigang, is the dean of the School of Photography at the Beijing Film Academy as of January 2010.

Wu Qun. Zhongguo sheying fazhan licheng (The development of Chinese photography) 中国摄影发展历程. Beijing: Xinhua Chubanshe, 1986.
A collection of research papers by Wu Qun, who researched the history of Chinese photography, focusing primarily on the 1870s and 1880s. The first part concentrates on the period from the First Opium War to 1919, and the second is concerned with the period after 1919.

Zhang Xiaoqiang. Tupian Zhongguo bainian shi 1894–1994 = A Century's History of China in Photographs 1894–1994 图片中国百年史 1894–1994. Jinan: Shandong Huabao Chubanshe, 1994.
This two-volume book is organized chronologically. The 199 pictures in the first section mainly concentrate on the 1894–1911 period; however, important political and social changes are illustrated by photos taken in previous decades of celebrities, modern factories, the Boxer Uprising, and transportation systems, among other things.