Sponsored. Travel photography is a wonderful genre as it’s not just about ‘pretty faces in pretty places’ – it encompasses skills from landscape, portraiture, documentary and more.
China is a perennially fascinating destination for photographers as it offers so much variety. You can shoot hyperactive megacities, old temples and imperial buildings, not to mention the incredibly diverse scenery.
If you are not familiar with the country and its language(s), it can be overwhelming, however, so an organised photography tour to China is often a great way of making the most from a trip – particularly if time is limited.
Specialist tour operator, Jon Baines Tours, is offering a unique trip to China next year, following in the footsteps of famous 19th century travel photographer, John Thomson.
Thomson (1831-1921) is one of AP’s Icons of Photography. He was a remarkable, self-taught photographer from a relatively humble background, who managed to get unique access to China in the final decades of the Qing dynasty. As well as court officials, he also took many memorable images of ordinary Chinese people, without patronising or ‘exoticising’ them. This was very unusual at a time when the British Empire was at its peak.
Indeed, Thomson’s work laid the foundations of travel photography and social reportage, revolutionising the way people understood very different cultures (he was also the first photographer to capture Angkor Wat in Cambodia).
Thomson is now getting all the recognition he deserves, and English Heritage recently sited a blue plaque on his former house in South London.
Be inspired by John Thomson
This unique trip enables you to experience the people, landscapes, and traditions of China as Thomson did during his pioneering travels in the 1860s. Highlights will include excursions to the the bustling streets of Guangzhou (Canton) and the imperial grandeur of Beijing, stopping along China’s historic coast to capture both timeless and modern scenes.
The tour is led by eminent photography historian and Thomson authority, Deborah Ireland. Deborah has lectured extensively on Thomson and also written on the travels of the famous explorer and photographer of old China, Isabella Bird.
Participants will visit many of the same sites Thomson documented, with opportunities to compare his 19th-century photographs to the scenes as they exist today.
‘Thomson was keenly socially aware,’ says Deborah. ‘He grew up in a tenement in Edinburgh with 77 other people and always had an affinity with people and how they live. The pictures he takes of China were quite revolutionary – his negatives are so good that he captures so much on the periphery. It’s amazing – it’s all there, all the details of their lives.’
Unlike other photo trips to China, this tour will also engage with local historical societies to give you a richer understanding of society, architecture, and everyday life during the later Qing Dynasty.
Tour details and exclusive offer
John Thomson in China – A Photographic History takes place from 11 – 26 October 2025. To find out more, click here or call +44 (0) 20 7223 9485. Quote AP and you can get £50 (around $63) off the cost of the tour.
