China, circa 1871

John Thomson

The Scottish adventurer John Thomson was one of the most significant travel photographers/explorers of the nineteenth century. He was one of the first to travel throughout the Far East and he is renown for the spectacular images he created while there. This image of an Island Pagoda sitting majestically in the middle of the Min River (located in the Fujian province in Eastern China) is exceptional for its serenity and beauty.