Thomas H. Hahn Docu-Images: Recently Added Galleries and Collections

The Colma cemeteries (Colma, CA)

th.hahn@gmail.com (Thomas H. Hahn Docu-Images) — Wed, 05 Aug 2026 16:28:28 GMT

]]>Photographs taken in the Colma cemeteries, just south of San Francisco. From Wikipedia: "Colma became the location of a large number of cemeteries when San Francisco, the town's powerful neighbor to the north, passed an ordinance in 1900 outlawing the construction of any more cemeteries in the city (mainly because of increased property values making the cost of using land for cemeteries prohibitive), and then passed another ordinance in 1912 evicting all existing cemeteries from city limits."

A number of famous men and women have found their final resting place here, including Wyatt Earp (images #12 & 13), Levi Strauss (image #9), Joe DiMaggio etc.

The memorial sites represented in this gallery are:
1. The Jewish Cemetery (Hill of Eternity)
2. Cypress Lawn Cemetery
3. The Serbian Cemetery
3. The Italian Cemetery

All taken with the Leica M9 / 35mm Cron. Processing in Lightroom 5.7 and CS6.

Amoy - Xiamen 1880

th.hahn@gmail.com (Thomas H. Hahn Docu-Images) — Thu, 11 Jun 2026 11:18:34 GMT

]]>A series of panoramic and other views of Xiamen (Amoy) in around 1880. The views include the harbor, the British and German Consulates, the Pasedag House, various western-style mansions, and a variety of peaks and scenic spots.

The photographs are attributed to the local (Gulangyu) Chinese studio by the name of Rui Sheng 瑞生 (Jui Shan) and Yi Fang 宜芳 (E-Fong), "Photographer, Portrait and Ship Painters". Nothing much is known about thiis studio except as is advertised in the paper in image 8. The images displayed in this gallery may count among the earliest of Fuzhou (Foochow) and environs. They are of high quality, attributed with fine tonality and demonstrate excellent mastery of the medium.

Thomas H. Hahn
Ithaca, NY

The Zhalantun Railway Station & environs (1920s)

th.hahn@gmail.com (Thomas H. Hahn Docu-Images) — Wed, 01 Apr 2026 05:02:35 GMT

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Life in a Chinese city (1985/86)

th.hahn@gmail.com (Thomas H. Hahn Docu-Images) — Mon, 30 Mar 2026 14:37:21 GMT

]]>Photographs taken in Chengdu, Sichuan province, in the mid-1980s, when I lived, studied and taught at Sichuan University. Most of the old urban fabric is gone now. It was an intimate and intricate city once, and, if one paid attention to detail, one could still detect traces of interesting slices of the past, imperial, Republican or socialist-revolutionary. With the Cultural Revolution barely a decade past, some of the people encountered in the streets or teahouses still had a traumatized air about them. Unlike Shanghai, it was evident that individuals and instititions were still in a state of suspicion when it came to dealing with strangers, including foreigners. The term neidi (the "interior of the country") was frequently used to explain this less than open attitude.

On the other hand, Chengdu was Deng Xiaoping's home turf, and his call for economic reform was implemented here much earlier than in any city north of the Yangzi. A meal for five in a privately owned restaurant (and there were many of them) near campus was the equivalent to about $3, including a bottle of Green-Leaf beer. New zoning regulations, transportation and new housing would soon wipe the old neighborhoods clean, with only a few pockets deemed worth preserving, mainly around the Buddhist Wenshuyuan and the Taoist Qingyanggong temples. Signs of wholesale displacement were already in evidence back in 1985. Though often lacking in opportunity, in sanitation and contemporary amenities, in the old streets, for a short while, life seemed good.

Additional note: By and large, Chengdu was a car-less, walkable city back then.

Equipment used: Nikon & Leica with manual-focus lenses. Film scanned on Epson 4990 and processed in Lightroom 3.2.

Thomas H. Hahn
Ithaca, NY

The Manchurian Plague 1910-11 (1)

th.hahn@gmail.com (Thomas H. Hahn Docu-Images) — Mon, 09 Feb 2026 05:46:28 GMT

]]>The Manchurian (or Pneumonic) Plague, a fiasco in the history of public health in China, came at a time when the imperial court in Beijing was at its weakest and the Republican Revolution led by Sun Yat-sen hadn't occurred yet. With a mortality rate of almost 100%, it's outbreak would claim the life of ca. 45,000 to 60,000 residents of Harbin and environs.
Not only did the outbreak occur at a crucial moment in Chinese history, it also took place in a geopolitically highly contested area: Russia, Japan and China all lay claim to controlling this particular region. I recommend the work of William C. Summers and Mark Gamsa for further reading (for English-language materials).

These original photographs are of German provenance. I acquired them only recently. They are captioned "Die Pest in China 1911" (which does not require translation I believe). I assume they were taken some time between January and March, 1911. In my course on the History of Science in China (Cornell University, spring semester 2005) I used this subject matter as an assignment topic for my students.

Through the gracious generosity of Jim Roller, MD, I am able to include images of the commemorative medal presented to medical delegates to the International Plague Conference in Mukden (now Shenyang) in April 1911. This particular medal (extremely rare it appears) was of solid gold mined in Manchuria.

Historical photographs scanned with an Epson 4990 scanner at 400dpi to TIFF (color mode), converted to lossless JPG. No post-processing. Captions are mine (there were none with the originals). The gritty realism of these photographs certainly reflects the severity of the event.

Thomas H. Hahn, Ithaca/Beijing
Uploaded March 1, 2007
Updated May 8, 2007

Germany, advertising itself to a delegation from China (~1906)

th.hahn@gmail.com (Thomas H. Hahn Docu-Images) — Fri, 06 Feb 2026 14:03:55 GMT

]]>Simply entitled "DEUTSCHLAND", this album was produced by Ferdinand Hirt and Sons in Leipzig around 1906. Its production appears to be in close relation with Viceroy Duan Fang 端方 and his delegation's visit to Germany in the spring of that year (五大臣出洋). This delegation comprised around 33 members, and it is entirely plausible that less than 50 copies of this albums were ever produced. It is therefore extremely rare. I don't believe this was a mass-produced, commercial type of publication. It lacks a proper impressum, a foreword, postscript, table of contents, date, pagination, anything that would constitute the usual structure of a regular publication. Pending further research, I therefore conclude that it must have been a gift or presentation album to members of Duan Fang's delegation.

A few facts about this album:

It contains 56 photographs, five of these are panoramas
The range of subjects is very broad indeed: included are civil as well as military subjects, paired with architectural views, city- and landscapes
Three images are in color (reproduced here), the rest is b/w
The size of the album is 13 3/4 by 10 1/2 inches
The size of the photographs (double-spread panoramas excluded) is 9 3/4 by 7 3/4 inches
The quality of the original photographs is excellent, both from a technical and a compositional point of view
All image captions, including the title, are bilingual, in Chinese (on top) and German (at bottom)

All images reproduced with a Sony R1 on a tripod; no flash was used, no sharpening applied; RAW files developed in Lightroom 3.2, with final adjustments through the Fortepan Auto preset for proper monochrome conversion.

Thomas H. Hahn
Ithaca, NY
September 21, 2010

Early photographs of Daoist sites and practice 道教舊影

th.hahn@gmail.com (Thomas H. Hahn Docu-Images) — Fri, 09 Jan 2026 05:19:22 GMT

]]>A selection of photographs, original and published/printed, related to Daoist sites and practice. The time frame of this collection will extend backwards as far as technically and topically feasible, and forward - hopefully - into the 1970s (through the end of the Cultural Revolution, that is). For more current photographs related to Daoism, see the galleries under "(Sacred) Mountains and Sites in China".

Images such as these are difficult to trace. Outside of Hedda Morrison's photographs of Mt. Hua, with its Daoist cloisters and sword-wielding masters, and Anne Swann Goodrich's study of The Peking Temple of the Eastern Peak: the Tung-yüeh Miao in Peking and its Lore (1964), there is very little coherent visual documentation of Daoism's late Qing and (post-)Republican era history, either published in print, or unpublished as unique mementos. To arrive at materials covering what was left of Daoist practice (or sites) during the CR is an even more fragmented undertaking. The photographs here represent these circumstances, by drawing from Perckhammer (1930), Osvald Siren (1924), Carl Kupfer (1911), Melchers (1921), Boerschmann (1906-09), John D. Zumbrum (1911-1929), Japanese expedition reports, early illustrated Chinese language journals, etc. Some local museums also have started to put on display historical photographs of former places of worship, amongst them Daoist temples. It's a rare thing, though, but fortunately, such is the case for Baotou.

Added - and of considerable interest - is a unique pair of photographs of Daoist Associations (Baoji & Jinan), and a photograph of a Daoist turned filial son-in-mourning who, according to the photograph's description, did not utter a single word over the entire mourning period of three years.

Thomas H. Hahn, Berkeley, CA
Last update: August 2025

Christian Missionary album, by Nora Dillenbeck (1913)

th.hahn@gmail.com (Thomas H. Hahn Docu-Images) — Mon, 22 Dec 2025 22:44:55 GMT

]]>Nora Dillenbeck was a missionary in Shandong, China. She arrived in the country just two years after the 1911 revolution. This unique and well annotated album chronicles her departure from Seattle and her living and working environment at the Chinese mission station. It also includes pictures of an excursion to Taishan (Mt. Tai).

According to the preface of this album, she was a member of the First M. E. Church in Ithaca, NY.

Thomas H. Hahn
Ithaca, NY
March 1, 2010

Bars! (Tsingtao - Shanghai, 1940)

th.hahn@gmail.com (Thomas H. Hahn Docu-Images) — Fri, 14 Nov 2025 04:31:15 GMT

]]>From a sailor's album (by the name of Harold - Harry - Carrico). Photographs taken between June 20 and August 24, 1940, in Tsingtao (Qingdao) and Shanghai. Carrico was a seaman on the SS Pike (aka Submarine 173), which used Shanghai and Tsingtao as a regular base, until the attack on Pearl Harbor in Dec. 1941, that is, when Japanese authorities closed the Tsingtao port to American warships and merchants.

Readings:
Andrew Field: Shanghai's dancing world: cabaret culture and urban politics, 1919-1954 (HK, Chinese University Press, 2001)

C.E. Lemunyon's color prints, 1906-

th.hahn@gmail.com (Thomas H. Hahn Docu-Images) — Wed, 29 Oct 2025 10:41:48 GMT

]]>A selection of Clarence Eugene Lemunyon's color(ized) work from Beijing and environs, about 1906-. C.E. Lemunyon (Chinese name: 雷尼诺恩) was born in Manchester Center, Ontario County, New York, on the 4th of July, 1860. He passed away in Peking, China, on April 21, 1929. The cause of death as determined by Dr. T. H. Chow from the Peking Union Medical College was empyema. He was buried on April 24, 1929 in the Medical College Cemetary, outside of Ch'i Hua Men. His sister, Mrs. Fred Stephenson (maiden name: Jeannette Lemunyon), of Phelps, NY, inquired about disenterring her brother's remains and reburying him on home soil, but further research is required to confirm if this - with a quoted pricetag of $761 very costly - plan was carried out.

In an affidavit (to Overcome Presumption of Expatriation, dated Feb.25, 1918) C.E. Lemunyon states that he left Great Falls, Montana (where he acted as a photographer with the Great Northern Railway) in October or November 1897; that he resided henceforth in Honolulu, Hawaii; Manila, Philippines; Vladivostok, Siberia; and that he arrived in Peking, China, on April 12th, 1906 (from Hong Kong, where he had worked as a photographer since 1902). In the same affidavit, Lemunyon states that "I am the proprietor of the Emporium, a photographic art store, on Hatamen Street, Peking." Taking other (anecdotal) evidence into consideration, it is probably a fair assumption that his main location of residency and photographic activity was Peking between 1906 and the date of his demise in 1929.

He died poor, btw., his outstanding liabilities outweighing his assets by a ratio of 10:1. Lemunyon was married to one Minnie Jaeger Lemunyon. The marriage lastet all but six months, and ended with Minnie Jaeger filing a petition for judicial separation in a Shanghai court on October 20, 1910. Mrs. Jaeger returned to Germany and passed away some years later. From what I can glimpse from the records at hand, Lemunyon remarried (the year is unclear), as the State Department's consular records from 1929 name a certain Georgiana Lemunyon, "to be the legal wife of the deceased and to be his sole devisee."

The data above constitute a rough biographical sketch of Lemunyon. He was a rather prolific photographer whose work is just beginning to be explored and appreciated. This introductory gallery may help in that endevor.

All images courtesy Mr. Norman Hodgson, CA. Additional images can be seen at http://xubaojun.blog.163.com/blog/static/17475138720127147511199/

Thomas H. Hahn
Ithaca, NY

Christian churches in China

th.hahn@gmail.com (Thomas H. Hahn Docu-Images) — Sun, 03 Aug 2025 15:55:36 GMT

]]>This is a "working collection" of photographs of churches in China which I have come across during my travels in the country. There are of course many such places both in urban and rural settings, and it should not come as a surprise that the architectural styles & designs are highly diverse & distinct.

The time span in which these images were taken is rather broad: the earliest date back to 1986, while the most recent ones register as of November 2014. Images of the interior are rare. In some instances outside (=foreign) visitors are not allowed or welcome, in (most) other instances the premises are often locked and only open for limited hours during the week.

I hope that this gallery is of use to
a) those studying the revival of Christianity in China;

b) those who look at the integration of western architectural elements into the modern Chinese cityscape;

c) those who are interested in the aspects of preservation of cultural heritage sites in China.

The sites represented here are situated in the following cities:
- Shanghai
- Tianjin
- Beijing
- Qingdao (Shandong province)
- Jining (Shandong province)
- Fuzhou (Fujian province)
- Xiamen/Gulangyu (Fujian province)
- Yandang Mountains (Fujian province)
- Shantou (Guangdong province)
- Ningbo (Zhejiang province)
- Wenzhou (Zhejiang province)
- Wuhan (Hubei province)
- Wuxi (Jiangsu province)
- Luoyang (Henan province)
- Pingyao (Shanxi province)
- Zhengding (Hebei province)
- Qingyan (Guizhou Province)
- Tangqi (Zhejiang province)
- Suzhou (Jiangsu province)
- Handan (Hebei province)
- Weixian (Hebei province)
- Daming (Hebei province)
- Kaifeng (Henan province)
- Jiaxing (Zhejiang province)
- Shaoxing (Zhejiang province)
- Baotou (Neimenggu)
- Datong (Shanxi province)

Thomas H. Hahn
Berkeley, CA
Last update: August 2025

Beijing CCTV Tower - artistic renderings

th.hahn@gmail.com (Thomas H. Hahn Docu-Images) — Sun, 03 Aug 2025 14:24:21 GMT

]]>Some artistic renderings of the Beijing CCTV building.

On the current state of affairs re China's TV stations and reporting cultures, see https://chinamediaproject.org/2025/04/10/television-in-crisis/

Moving on - Abandoned homes in upstate New York

th.hahn@gmail.com (Thomas H. Hahn Docu-Images) — Sun, 20 Apr 2025 14:07:09 GMT

]]>Upstate New York is a rather troubled area. Geographically speaking, the term includes the following wider areas:
- Buffalo
- Rochester
- Syracuse
- Albany
- Watertown
- Utica
- Binghamton
This listing encompasses the scenic Fingerlakes Region; most of the photographs in this gallery originate from here.

With economic growth lagging well behind the national average, even in a good year, it is no surprise that upstate is deficient in a variety of ways. The region suffers severe job losses, transformation of good land to fallow land, scores of farms going out of business, abandoned homes, trailer parks that litter the (still very scenic) landscape, low industrial output, fragmented cityscapes, southward migration, the walmartization of its retail infrastructure, and so on. It's been that way for a while. A report by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York published in 1999 gives upstate low marks for economic performance even in times when the rest of the state and indeed the entire country was pulling ahead with much higher GDP numbers. There is no reason to be nostalgic, however. Upstate is a rugged place. People conduct their affairs in a straightforward manner. It is stating the obvious that New York state's most competitive asset in the global economy lies "downstream", in Manhattan. For those in charge, it would be wise - for once - to "look the other way" again and discover what upstate can contribute in the context of industrial and agricultural production.

Thomas H. Hahn
Ithaca, NY

Opus 40 (Woodstock,NY)

th.hahn@gmail.com (Thomas H. Hahn Docu-Images) — Sun, 20 Apr 2025 02:41:36 GMT

]]>This is a small selection of photographs taken at Harvey Fite's sculpture park Opus 40. Fite (1903 - 1976) was one of the co-founders of Bard College's Fine Arts Department. He purchased a decommissioned bluestone quarry between Saugerties and Woodstock in 1938, and projected to labor in it for exactly 40 years. An accident shortened this projection by 3 years. What he created over 37 years of toiling, tunneling, excavation and accummulation constitutes a "labyrinthine world of finely fitted stone, swirling stone ramps and terraces constructed around pools and trees and fountains, rising out of bedrock a half mile deep."

Fite's world was opened to the public in 1978. It includes the sculpture park, the Fite's private residence, and a (very interesting) Quarryman's Museum. It was designated the status of a National Historic Site, too.

Visited September 28, 2012, and again May 17, 2014. Cameras used: Fuji S5, Leica M9 and Samsung EX1. Files variously processed in LR4/5, PS5, and SFX2.

Thomas H. Hahn
Ithaca, NY

* Quoted from the official Opus 40 website at www.opus40.org

Hemingshan 鹤鸣山

th.hahn@gmail.com (Thomas H. Hahn Docu-Images) — Thu, 17 Apr 2025 14:50:42 GMT

]]>Images of Heming shan 鹤鸣山, a Daoist sacred mountain in Dayi county, Sichuan Province. Said to have been the domain of the first Heavenly Master 张天师. The same master then relocated to Longhushan 龙虎山 (Dragon-Tiger Mountain), where his family settled for many generations, until the present day in fact (see the two related galleries on Longhushan in this section on Sacred Mountains).

Visited September 27, 1986. At the time, there wasn't much there to look at. The original statues of various deities had been destroyed during the Cultural Revolution; the ones in the photographs 12 to 14 served as (temporary) substitutes.

Photograph 6 shows a (then) very rare instance of tree deity worship.

Uploaded December 23, 2006.
Thomas H. Hahn, Ithaca, NY

Serendipity collection (color)

th.hahn@gmail.com (Thomas H. Hahn Docu-Images) — Mon, 14 Apr 2025 11:09:38 GMT

]]>A collection of chance encounters, accidents, and discoveries. A couple of these pictures are arranged ("staged"), otherwise things were left alone and just slightly recontextualized. Against usual (somewhat harried) practice, with these photographs I did pay a bit more attention to exposure and composition.

Taken in the following locations:
Norwich, upstate New York.
New York City, Battery Park.
San Francisco.
Beijing, China.
Sanya, Hainan Island, China.
Bar Harbor, Maine.
Rockland, Massachussetts.
Ithaca, upstate New York.
Paris, France.
Sergiev Posad, Russia.
Marburg, Germany.

In contrast to my other collections and galleries, this collection is not serialized or homogeneous in any way. Cameras and gear differ considerably, from medium format to digital.

Thomas H. Hahn, Ithaca, NY

Macedonia