This film is part of Free

Outward Bound through the Suez Canal and on to Shanghai

Travel in luxury on the 'slow boat to China' in this remarkable film from 1938, passing through the Suez Canal to Hong Kong, Shanghai and beyond.

Amateur film 1938 10 mins Silent

From the collection of:

Logo for Screen Archive South East

Overview

This fascinating travel film shows an onboard deck-tennis match, passage through the Suez Canal to Aden. There we see mountainous landscapes, the marketplace and numerous camels. Next we arrive in Colombo where elegant streets and an elephant can be seen. Enroute to Hong Kong we see the children playing blind-man's buff. Departing from a Hong Kong that would be unrecognisable today, we arrive at Shanghai with marvellous views across the Bund and the bustling streets.

S. Howard Hansford was an archaeologist and jade expert based at London University. He published a number of authoritative books on the subject of jade, as well as contributing several academic papers and contributions to journals on Chinese decorative art. During the Second World War Professor Hansford worked on code-breaking at Bletchley Park.