Travels in Southwest China, 1899-1917

The archive of Fritz and Hedwig Weiss – in memory of Tamara Wyss

Fritz Weiss – a German consul to China – lived and travelled in China from 1899 to 1917, with diplomatic postings in various cities such as Chengdu (Sichuan) and Kunming (Yunnan). From 1911 he was accompanied by his wife, Hedwig Weiss-Sonnenburg. This exhibition reveals impressions from the time in which the Weisses were in China, during the years of upheaval between the end of the Qing dynasty and the beginning of the First World War. The pictures were taken by Fritz and Hedwig Weiss during their travels by ship and on land, in cities and in secluded minority territories, as well as in their daily lives.


The photos in this exhibition are part of the Weiss archive, which Tamara Wyss – the granddaughter of Fritz and Hedwig Weiss – donated to Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin shortly before her untimely death. This exhibition is a recollection to her excellent work on the archive and her wish to share and perpetuate the story of her grandparents.