Photographs capture transient moments. As they are duplicated, the moments are preserved, rendering history tangible through visual documentation and allowing one to visualise scenes that are long gone. The Chinese photography collection of the Moonchu Foundation held by the Hong Kong Museum of History includes more than 20,000 photographic works and related books and periodicals. The majority date from the late 19th century to the early 20th century, documenting significant historical events and military campaigns alongside urban landscapes and folk customs of the period from both macro and micro perspectives. This exhibition presents selected photographs from this collection to reveal the visage of China a century ago.
All photographs in this exhibition are reproduced by permission of the Government of the HKSAR from the collection of the Hong Kong Museum of History / donated by Moonchu Foundation