Travel Scenes in Hunan

Scenes in and around Shaoyang in South Central China are brought to life by mesmerising amateur photography.

This picturesque catalogue of scenes in and around Shaoyang in Hunan Province, South Central China records the rhythms of ordinary town and country living: street and river traffic, farm work, artisan craft, laundry. It’s an unromantic portrait of peasant hardships, brought to life by some mesmerising and unexpected images - the shots filmed aboard a moving litter chair are cheeky and delightful.

It's one of six films made for the Methodist Missionary Society by amateur photographer J.G. Pearson – who may well have been related to the Dr George H Pearson who established and managed a hospital in Shaoyang between 1920 and 1951.