By the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Christian missionaries had been in China for several hundred years, which meant that many Chinese immigrants had encountered Christianity before they ever set foot on American soil. Women and children were known as “easy believers” by missionaries and two children devote their attention to the preacher in this image while other Chinese, particularly men, gather above decks to talk and smoke among themselves.

The exquisite paintings of award-winning artist Mian Situ provide an evocative window into a point in history when the collision of East and West impacted the future not only for the immigrants, but for both cultures.