Belated congratulations to Miss M Ballingall and Mr RM Ballingall for winning the 1940 Mixed Foursomes and Mrs C McLean and and Mr JC Dickson for winning the trophy the following year, 1941 – obviously there was not to be a 1942 competition!
The Balingall’s, a family with English and Indian (colonial tea planter) roots, lived in Shanghai and were interned by the Japanese as civilian internees between 1943 and 1945 during the Second World War. They were repatriated to England in October 1945. Not sure about the Maclean’s – there were both merchants and missionaries around with that surname. JC Dickson seems to have been around in Shanghai since at least the late 1880s with the Municipal Police.
‘We’re following the travels of Emily “Mickey” Hahn in 1930s China. Mickey Hahn was a writer, an adventurer, and a professional rule breaker whose wanderlust took her from the American Midwest to Europe and Africa and finally to China, all before she turned 30.
By the time she got to China, she had already established herself as an up-and-coming literary voice and one of the New Yorker’s earliest star writers. In her career, she published 54 books and over 200 articles, but her most famous book is China to Me, a memoir of the years that we’re going to talk about in this episode.
She partied with poets (and her pet gibbon) at Shanghai soirees. Wrote biographies while dodging bombs in wartime Chongqing, and did her best to keep herself and her family alive in Japanese-occupied Hong Kong. Along the way, she became famous (some might add “notorious”) for her affairs, including with Chinese writer Sinmay Zau (Shao Xunmei 邵洵美) and the head of British intelligence in Hong Kong, Charles Boxer.
Mickey lived through some of China’s most tumultuous moments. While many foreigners experienced these events, Mickey gave her readers an unvarnished look at what was happening, with a style all her own.
We’ll explore Mickey’s life, travels, and adventures, and we’ll also discuss how to follow in her footsteps today through the modern cities of Chongqing, Hong Kong, and especially Shanghai.’
Grace Lau’s Chinese portrait studio has been on a memorable journey through Hastings, Southampton, London, and Eastbourne – finishing this year in St Leonards on Sea. This exhibition shows a selection of the portraits captured en route in Hastings and St Leonards on Sea. The portrait studio was made of ‘mock’ traditional Chinese furniture, with a decorative backdrop and accessories. Those featured were asked to pose in a similar manner to Victorian studio portraits, juxtaposing their modern items.
Through this project I am making an oblique comment on Imperialist visions of the ‘exotic’ Chinese and, by reversing roles, I have become the Imperialist photographer documenting my exotic subjects in the South of England.’ (Grace Lau 2006)
These rich, many layered, opulent portraits made by a Chinese-born feminist photographer are a monument to place, race, people, and the passing of time; they are also a direct political comment on the uses of photography as propaganda.
This project was funded by Arts Council England and supported by John Hansard Gallery.
About the Artist
Born in London of Chinese parentage, Grace Lau is a practicing photographer, artist, writer, and lecturer. She has an MA in Photography & Culture from UAL. She has exhibited widely, including at the National Portrait Gallery, Tate Britain, Turner Contemporary Margate, Photo Fusion London, and Aberystwyth Art Centre. Her work is in the collections of the National Portrait Gallery, Tate Modern, Sarah and David Kowitz, and the Asia Culture Centre in South Korea. She won first prize at the fourth Global SinoPhoto Awards in 2024. Her work will be included in the forthcoming Tate Britain exhibition The Eighties: Photographing Britain, from 21 November 2025.
Grace Lau’s Chinese portrait studio has been on a memorable journey through Hastings, Southampton, London, and Eastbourne – finishing this year in St Leonards on Sea. This exhibition shows a selection of the portraits captured en route in Hastings and St Leonards on Sea. The portrait studio was made of ‘mock’ traditional Chinese furniture, with a decorative backdrop and accessories. Those featured were asked to pose in a similar manner to Victorian studio portraits, juxtaposing their modern items.
Through this project I am making an oblique comment on Imperialist visions of the ‘exotic’ Chinese and, by reversing roles, I have become the Imperialist photographer documenting my exotic subjects in the South of England.’ (Grace Lau 2006)
These rich, many layered, opulent portraits made by a Chinese-born feminist photographer are a monument to place, race, people, and the passing of time; they are also a direct political comment on the uses of photography as propaganda.
This project was funded by Arts Council England and supported by John Hansard Gallery.
About the Artist
Born in London of Chinese parentage, Grace Lau is a practicing photographer, artist, writer, and lecturer. She has an MA in Photography & Culture from UAL. She has exhibited widely, including at the National Portrait Gallery, Tate Britain, Turner Contemporary Margate, Photo Fusion London, and Aberystwyth Art Centre. Her work is in the collections of the National Portrait Gallery, Tate Modern, Sarah and David Kowitz, and the Asia Culture Centre in South Korea. She won first prize at the fourth Global SinoPhoto Awards in 2024. Her work was included in the Tate Britain exhibition The Eighties: Photographing Britain in 2025.
If you’re in London just time to get along to the Waddington Custot Gallery on Cork Street to see The Guardians of Time exhibition featuring Chinese artist and designer Jiang Qiong Er’s series of sculptural installations, wax paintings and design objects that reimagine ancient Chinese mythology and cultural symbols through 21st century motifs. You can see examples of Qiong Er’s work and exhibition details here.
An exhibition of Hungarian architects in Shanghai (Hudec, Károly Gonda, Béla Mátrai, Rudolf Sömjén) and their significant contributions to the city’s modern landscape. It’s on till January 22, 2026 at the China Cultural Center in Budapest. If you happen to be passing through Budapest this winter then it’s a must visit…
