Rare photos of Shanghai more than 150 years ago

Rare color photos of 19th-century Shanghai through lenses of British photographer William Saunders were first introduced in London from November 4 to 12.

Engineer William Saunders first came to China in 1860. He returned to England to study photography briefly and returned to Shanghai to establish one of the city's first photography stores.In the picture above are the hairdressers in Shanghai in the 19th century. Men still leave familiar Qing tail hair styles.

Saunders portraits often reveal the character's career, social status.However, in this photo, the young girl standing next to the Guangdong-style ceramic only holds the umbrella.The legs were not bundled and the headscarf was a typical image of Guangzhou women at the time.Shanghai attracts not only foreign traders but also whole-country residents throughout China.

At the end of the Qing Dynasty, one-wheeled self-propelled vehicles were typical vehicles in Shanghai.The pusher stood behind him.The assertive eyes of the three men in the picture showed confidence in the camera, a rare thing in China at the time.

Saunders is particularly interested in women's hairstyles, costumes, and legs.In this photo, the woman is dressed in Guangzhou's traditional silk dress, sitting in a Western-style chair.This shows that Shanghai is an open land for foreign culture.

According to Saunders, the Shanghai woman in the photo agreed to take her bundle legs.Traditional bundle legs are the highlight of the photo as she sits in a Western style with a confident, face-to-face look at the lens.

These two girls were brought from Jiangsu Province with a typical local hairstyle.The photo also shows that the leg is a common practice in all social classes, not including the rich and the poor.At the end of the Qing Dynasty, the umbrellas that were only for nobility became high-end fashion accessories in Shanghai society.

The boy selling chicken feather brooms appeared in the image of Saunders.According to the British photographer, broom materials are provided by chefs who buy chicken feathers.In the 19th century in Shanghai, small traders like this boy often brought their products for sale on the street.

The picture of dramatic actors is one of Mr. Saunders' favorite works.Their costumes are made of high quality silk with complex embroidery lines.Face masks of each person reflect different roles: righteous - antagonistic, good - evil .

The Qing-dressed man was perfectly comfortable in front of the camera lens.His smile was also a rare occurrence in portraits of the time.Saunders captures many people from all walks of life to reflect the social differentiation in 19th century Shanghai.

Photographers are very interested in Chinese business practices.In the photo, a car-puller dismantles every part of his "rice-hook" car to take care to avoid tax fees when passing some bridges in Shanghai.The shooting not to reveal the man also reflects the request to keep the identity of the car pullers at that time.

Photograph of mother and child from Ningbo, south of Shanghai.They wear costumes and leave a typical hairstyle in this locality.The mother and daughter stood next to the lens and the boy sat on the ground looking curious with the camera.