Editor's note: More than 30 original photographs of Peking, now known as Beijing, shot by Thomas Child in the 1870s and 1880s during late Qing dynasty will be displayed in London's Chinatown as part of Asian Art in London season. Thomas Child, a British photographer, was employed from 1870 to 1889 in Beijing as a gas engineer for the Imperial Maritime Customs. He documented life in old imperial capital with his camera, producing a series of signed and dated full-plate images.

Ancient arch at Nankou Pass, 1877 [Photo/National Archives, London]