Photos offer glimpse of old China

Striking images of Asia, offering a glimpse of the way people lived more than 150 years ago, have gone on display at an exhibition in London.

The pictures were taken between 1862 and 1872 by Scottish photographer and travel writer John Thomson during his travels to several Asian countries, including what was then called Siam (now Thailand), Cambodia, Vietnam and many parts of China.

The first London exhibition of the photographs, called "China and Siam through the Lens of John Thomson", can be seen at the Brunei Gallery in the School of Oriental and African Studies.