Chang Font Size
 
 
 
Exhibition Banner
 

Past Exhibitions

 

In Retrospect: The Early Chinese Photography Collection of Moonchu Foundation

23/10/2024 – 3/2/2025

Moonchu Historical Images and Culture Gallery, Hong Kong Museum of History


Presented by
Leisure and Cultural Services Department

Jointly organised by
Hong Kong Museum of History
Moonchu Foundation


In collaboration with
Chinese Culture Promotion Office

The Moonchu Foundation has generously donated more than 24,000 invaluable images in its Chinese photography collection to the Hong Kong Museum of History. Mostly taken in the late Qing and early Republican period, the photographs feature a wide range of contents and subject matters. They form a rare and comprehensive collection of Chinese photography.

The exhibition showcases over 500 selected pieces from the Moonchu Collection of Chinese Photography, covering major historical events in China during the Qing dynasty, such as the Second Opium War, the Self-Strengthening Movement, the First Sino-Japanese War, the invasion of the Eight-Nation Alliance and the Russo-Japanese War among others. There are also photographs depicting the urban landscapes, historic buildings and people’s livelihood in the late Qing dynasty and early Republican period, as well as specimens of different photographic materials and formats which reflect the development of early photography. Among the exhibits is one of the earliest photographs of China in existence today, taken 180 years ago, the signature works of iconic Chinese and foreign photographers, glass negatives, stereoscopic photographs, hand-coloured photographs and more. The images of China on display depict the country from micro and macro perspectives. They are excellent materials for understanding the face of China a century ago.

This exhibition is one of the events in the Chinese Culture Promotion Series. The Leisure and Cultural Services Department has long been promoting Chinese history and culture through organising an array of programmes and activities to enable the public to learn more about the broad and profound Chinese culture. For more information, please visit https://www.ccpo.gov.hk/en.


Link to website:
Chinese Culture Promotion Office
https://www.ccpo.gov.hk/en

 

One of the earlist known photographs taken in China. Praia Grande Bay, Macau, 1844.

Interior of the Taku North Fort occupied by the Anglo-French forces during the Second Opium War, 1860.

Chinese exhibition area in the Centennial Exhibition of 1876 held in Philadelphia, United States.

Wuyi Mountains, 1870s.

Working women in Fuzhou, 1870.

Coloured glass slides.

 

Privacy Policy / Important Note    Last Updated:

© All rights reserved by the Leisure and Cultural Services Department