Photos Collection
The Virtual Shanghai image database presents a wide-ranging collection of photographs of the metropolis from the late nineteenth century to the present. While the project initially focused on pre-1949 Shanghai, the integration of new collections now extends coverage into the Maoist and post-Maoist periods. Moreover, the historical photography holdings are gradually expanding to include images from other Chinese cities and even other countries.
We have also has created a broader access portal, Visual Cultures in East Asia, which serves as an entry point to all these resources and related projects.
Photography in China
Photography in China emerged alongside Western presence in the mid-nineteenth century. When the treaty ports were opened to international trade in 1842, photography was a newly invented technology poised to become a universal medium. In China, the recording of scenes, places, and events began almost immediately and produced a visual record of immense historical value.
Technological advances and new cultural practices—especially the development of mechanical printing and the rise of the press—further strengthened photography’s role as a mass medium in the twentieth century. Over time, images reached us in many formats: glass slides, photographic prints, book or journal illustrations, and postcards. Yet a large proportion of these materials has been lost due to destruction, neglect, and the dispersal of collections.
Photographs could be commercial or private, created by professional or amateur photographers, and produced or collected by both Chinese and foreigners. Early photographs capture ways of life, architectural forms, and urban landscapes that have long since disappeared. (For a reference site on historical photography in China, see the Bibliography of China related historical Photography).
Photography and Historical Research
Globally, photography has become an increasingly important resource for historical research, yet it has often been overlooked in Chinese studies. Scholars, students, and the wider public who might benefit from such visual sources are often unaware of their existence or unsure where to locate them. One of the core aims of the Virtual Shanghai project is to make significant photographic collections available online, enriched with complete metadata to support research, teaching, and public understanding.
Objectives of the Image Database
The image database serves three main purposes:
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Public access and education – To make available a large body of photographs of Shanghai in both pre- and post-revolutionary periods, enabling users to see and visualize the past. Special emphasis is placed on educational use, particularly for students interested in Chinese history, Shanghai, or urban architecture.
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Scholarly resource – To provide researchers from multiple disciplines with access to materials that are often scattered, little known, or of uneven quality. Systematic visual analysis offers insights into aspects of the past that are otherwise inaccessible.
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Historical memory and visual biography – To contribute to the preservation of Shanghai’s historical memory and to the writing of its visual “biography.” By linking images to the cartographic database, the project makes it possible to locate photographed sites and to trace the city’s evolution through a series of historical maps.
Contributions and Preservation
The Virtual Shanghai Project (email: contact@virtualshanghai.net) welcomes donations or deposits—whether for long-term preservation or digitization—of photographic collections relating to Shanghai and China before and after 1949.
Digitization does not entail any transfer of ownership. We guarantee that photographs will be published online only with the owner’s prior consent, and in a format that prevents high-resolution reproduction for commercial purposes.
For information on duplication of photographic materials, please consult our Services page.
最新更新 星期五 15 八月 2025 (16:15) / C. Henriot
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