Since its inception, Companion has always lived ahead of its time. During the 1920s and 30s, when even printed news was rare and precious, Companion was already a pioneer in providing pictorial reports to the public. It quickly became the publication that chronicled and provoked China’s passion for decades to come. Throughout the epic of war and peace, readers could read from Companion the faces and demeanor of influential politicians such as Sun Zhongshan, Jiang Jieshi, Feng Yuxiang, Zhang Xueliang, Mao Zedong, Zhu De and Zhou Enlai. Numerous special editions were issued to bring the public to witness the significant events in contemporary Chinese history, such as Jiawu Zhanzhen and the Incident of 9.18. These images imprinted the historical moments firmly on the minds of many Chinese people and fired their enthusiasm.

      Companion also pioneered at presenting the many faces of China. By no means dampened by the lack of modern transport system then, Companion sent a team of four to capture the vast country in photograph in the year 1932. This unprecedented and daring mission that lasted for nine months earned the magazine extraordinary reputation among scholars, as for the very first time, an authentic China, not the eccentric country portrayed in a stereotyped and one-sided manner, had been shown before the world. From then on, depicting China’s landscape and customs has become one of the unchanged themes of Companion.