Hong Rong is an outstanding representative of early documentary photography. Hong Rong (1828 ~ 19 12), a native of Xiangshan County, Guangdong Province, was a reformer in the late Qing Dynasty. 1847 studied in the United States, 1854 graduated from Yale university, becoming the first person in China to graduate from an American institution of higher learning.

Hong Rong was the first diplomat who used photography for diplomatic negotiations. He was China's deputy ambassador to the United States and Peru. In a negotiation of a treaty between Chinese workers, he used photos brilliantly to carry out diplomatic struggle and safeguard the interests of Chinese workers.