Times gone in a snap

For instance, under portrait photographer Xiao Quan's lens, many well-known celebrities were captured like an everyday acquaintance of the viewer. Xiao's photos show that writers, singers, film directors and other stars were ordinary people with their own troubles.

The photos on display are a series of portraits of Chen Mao-ping, whose English name is Echo, a popular writer from Taiwan who wrote about her life with her lover under the pen name Sanmao. Her books were loved by young people and many longed for the romantic life she depicted.

The photos recorded her life in Chengdu, Sichuan province, around the early 1990s. In them, she plays with children, chats with rickshaw drivers and enjoys the easy atmosphere of teahouses.

"Photographers like Xiao can easily capture people's life without them noticing," says Zhu.