The former residence of Edgar and Helen Snow in Beijing Photo: IC PHOTO

Since the 20th century, China has traveled a path from striving for independence and autonomy to comprehensively advancing modernization. Along this century-long journey, many international friends—such as Edgar Snow, Helen Foster, Michael Lindsay, Norman Bethune, David Crook, and Isabel Crook—witnessed and contributed to China’s transformation in different ways. Edgar Snow, the first foreign journalist to visit the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia Border Region, took a large number of photographs during his interviews. Published worldwide through Life magazine and Red Star Over China, these precious images became some of the earliest visual records through which the international community came to understand the Communist Party of China (CPC). The experiences and narratives of these international friends offer new perspectives on China’s interaction with the world in the 20th century and deeper insights into the unique global political landscape of that era.

Edgar Snow’s photojournalism practice

Edgar Snow graduated from the School of Journalism at the University of Missouri in the United States. In the latter half of 1927, eager for adventure, Snow planned a journey to the East. He purchased a second-hand Kodak 4A camera for 25 dollars and set off on his travels. With a reference letter from Walter Williams, then Dean of the School of Journalism at the University of Missouri, Snow joined the China Weekly Review in Shanghai. Later, he met the American writer Helen Foster, and together they embarked on their journalistic and travel endeavors across China.

By the late 1920s, documentary and news photography was gaining traction as foreign merchants and journalists traveled deeper into China. Photography studios, exhibitions, and illustrated magazines provided platforms for both creation and dissemination. The Helen Foster archives at Brigham Young University in Utah preserve more than 10,000 historical photographs taken roughly between 1853 and 2000. These images cover the United States, Japan, China, Korea, the Philippines, and other countries, and include not only personal portraits of Helen throughout her life but also photographs taken or collected by Snow and Foster during their work as journalists in Asia.

The photographs taken in China documented the natural scenery and cultural life of cities such as Suzhou, Shanghai, Hangzhou, and Beijing, while also recording many important historical events in China during the 1920s and 1930s. As professional journalists, the Snows produced images that conveyed information far richer than words alone and became important evidence for validating news internationally. In 1936, Snow set out for the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia Border Region, equipped with his own camera, a borrowed movie camera, and 24 rolls of film. While in Bao’an, he conducted multiple interviews with CPC leaders and senior Red Army commanders; in Gansu and Ningxia, he visited frontline Red Army units.

The subjects and content of Snow’s photographs are extremely rich and diverse, and can be broadly grouped into three categories. The first depicts the environment of the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia Border Region, showing not only the natural landscape—valleys, cliffs, cave dwellings, and plateaus—but also the humanistic environment, including reading rooms, murals, wall newspapers, and prominent slogan banners throughout the area. The second portrays the people of the border region, vividly capturing not only Red Army leaders but also ordinary soldiers, the young Red Army soldiers, theater troupe performers, and local residents. The third presents typical activities within the base area, including military meetings, cavalry drills, theater performances, and sports competitions, reflecting developments in military affairs, education, healthcare, and cultural life.

Snow was equally skilled at conveying intricate details and crafting expressive, dynamic scenes. His portraits bear the hallmarks of classic portrait photography, with prominently featured subjects, natural expressions, harmonious relationships between people and their surroundings, and clear, sharp images. These qualities demonstrate Snow’s acute awareness of journalistic value and his mastery of the medium, while also indirectly reflecting the CPC leadership’s attention to and recognition of interviews and photographic documentation.

With Helen’s assistance, Snow compiled his interview materials and photographs into reports and manuscripts for publication. Newspapers such as the China Weekly Review and the Au Secours de La Patrie were among the first to publish his interviews with Mao Zedong, including the now-famous photograph of Mao wearing a cap. In 1937, Life magazine published 41 of Snow’s photographs across two issues, totaling 11 pages, providing the earliest visual record of “Red China.” Some of these photographs were also included in the 1937 English edition of Red Star Over China, and the 1938 Chinese translation incorporated additional images under Snow’s guidance.

Building bridges of global communication

In 1937, Michael Lindsay, then professor of economics at Yenching University, traveled to China on the same ship as Canadian doctor Norman Bethune. During the voyage, Bethune explained to Lindsay the purpose of his trip and the role of the CPC in the war of resistance against the Japanese aggression, leaving Lindsay with a vivid impression of the CPC’s stance against Japaneses occupation.

Lindsay later made multiple visits to the Jin-Cha-Ji Border Region. Before the outbreak of the Pacific War, he risked his life by purchasing medicines, surgical instruments, radio equipment, engine oil, technical books, and other supplies in Japanese-occupied Beiping before sending them to the base area. Relying on self-taught radio skills, he also installed communications stations for the Eighth Route Army, contributing to China’s struggle against the Japanese occupation.

Lindsay had a passion for photography and took a large number of valuable photos in China. Between 1938 and 1939, he made three trips deep into central Hebei and the Jin-Cha-Ji Border Region for research and observation. His photographs faithfully documented the work, battles, and daily life in the CPC’s anti-Japanese base areas, as well as the region’s folk customs. His scenes of Eighth Route Army training sessions reflected military discipline and resilience, while images of local livelihoods highlighted the unity of the army and the masses. The efforts of Lindsay and other international friends helped the CPC gain wider understanding and support abroad, shaping its image as an active force of resistance dedicated to serving the people.

The renowned American journalist and photojournalist Harrison Forman also braved the main and rear battlefields of the Chinese People’s War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression, taking numerous photographs depicting Chinese soldiers fighting bravely and ordinary people supporting the war effort. His reports exposed the brutality of the Japanese invaders and revealed the indomitable spirit of the Chinese people. Published internationally, these works drew global attention to and inspired solidarity for China’s resistance, showing the world that China’s struggle was not only for its own liberation but also an integral part of the global war against fascism. Such images strengthened China’s international outreach during the war, visually shaping its image as a just, anti-fascist force.

In 1947, the British communist David Crook and his wife Isabel Crook visited Shilidian in the Jin-Ji-Lu-Yu Border Region to study the land reform movement in the liberated areas. In the course of their research, they took a series of photographs that vividly captured the progress of land reform and bore witness to the sweeping transformations taking place in rural society. These images not only recorded the joy of peasants who had gained land but also conveyed to the international community the CPC’s commitment to solving agrarian issues and promoting social fairness.

Since the 20th century, the “alliance” between photography and modern publishing has accelerated the global circulation of wartime images. It produced a cohort of professional photojournalists and profoundly shaped the political, economic, and cultural landscape of the era. The journalistic reporting and photography of Snow and Foster in the Shaan-Gan-Ning Border Region played an important role in shaping the CPC’s international image and inspired many international friends to visit Yan’an, Jin-Cha-Ji, and other base areas. These journalists and international visitors, armed with cameras, made the CPC and the masses in the base areas visible to the world.

Today, these precious photographs not only preserve the face of history but also embody international friendship, serving as bridges that connect China with the world.

Zhang Huiyu is a research fellow from the School of Journalism and Communication at Peking University.