"The family rose in importance in Shanghai from the late Qing dynasty into the twentieth century and went through more than 70 years of ups and downs until 1950," he saidWhile Watt's reaction to the never-before-seen photographs was by far the most compelling, the exhibition in Soho's Gerrard Street attracted worldwide attention, making headlines in the UK, the US, Europe and ChinaAOA体育官方网站入口"The success of the show reflected the increasing global interest in China's people and culture, as well as the interest of the people of China in preserving and studying their own history," said Loewentheil, who's Historical Photography of China Collection is the largest holding of late Qing dynasty photographs of China in private hands"My great, great grandfather was Zeng Guofan," Watt saidThe 79-year-old never expectedAOA体育官方网站入口 when he was browsing the internet that day that he would uncover a piece of family history dating back some 140 years"It was a picture I had never seen before and my instinct told me that the subjects could be my great grandparents," he told China Daily