Entitled Group Of Chinese Women With Fans, Canton China [c1880] Afong Lai [RESTORED] I evened out the background, darkened the entire print, added contrast and a sepia.

Afong Lai was one of the rare breed of Chinese photographer whom was recognized by his European contemporaries as a professional equal. He was well thought of by the legendary John Thomson, who rated Afong's work of a caliber that would be successful even if offered to the English in London. As a Chinese working in what was then considered to be a strictly European field, Afong established and fostered contacts with many foreigners, allowing his work to be brought home by Europeans and thus to be seen abroad. For this reason, historic examples of his work survives to this day. He was active in and around the Guangdong area (then called Kwangtung), particularly in Hong Kong, where he ran one of the colony's longest working photographic studios, reportedly from 1859 through 1900.

Professionally, Afong Lai specialized in portraiture and landscapes, and was well known for his stitched panoramic views. Unfortunately, other than his technical and artistic achievements, little of his personal life was ever recorded. In fact, there is even question over his proper name; that is, was his surname Fong or Afong, or Ah Fong? I suspect that this arose from the lack of western linguistic appreciation for the Cantonese dialect. Cantonese speaking Chinese would immediately recognize the "Ah" preceding Fong as just a colloquialism (denoting intimacy or familiarity). This is similar to the "Lil" (a truncation of Little, in this case, used as a term of endearment or affection) that may precede a typical American name like Joe. However, most non Chinese observers of Fong's times did not intuitively understand this distinction, and mistakenly assumed his proper name to be Mister Ahfong. An English version of this mistake would be referring to someone as Mister Liljoe. Despite this mistake of not having his real name remembered, it nonetheless burnished Fong's undeniable place in history as one of the great photographers of late Qing China.