A noted social anthropologist, Barbara E. Ward was a Fellow of Newnham College, Cambridge and a one-time Reader in Sociology at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. Ward first went to Hong Kong in 1950 and lived here whenever she had the opportunity. At the time of her death in January 1983, she was preparing a book on the Boat People of Hong Kong, among whom she lived for several years. She wrote numerous articles on Chinese social and economic organizations, particularly in Hong Kong and she was the editor of Women in the New Asia (UNESCO 1964).

Born in Hong Kong, Joan Law is a graphic designer and freelance photographer. She grew up in the city, living within what remained of village culture without being aware of it. In the early 1980s, she became interested in the villages of the New Territories, and began to photograph village customs and festivals. She spent the next two years photographing for the first edition of the book Chinese Festivals in Hong Kong. Joan still keeps up her interests in culture and festivals and visits festivals whenever she can. Presently, Joan lives in Canada with her children.