author
Mary Ninde Gamewell
1858–1947
A Methodist missionary and writer who spent many years in China, she helped American readers picture Chinese cities, culture, and daily life with warmth and clarity. Her best-known work, Ming-Kwong, City of the Morning Light, was widely used in mission study circles.
1 Audiobook
The gateway to China : pictures of Shanghai
by Mary Ninde Gamewell
About the author
Born in 1858, Mary Ninde Gamewell was an American writer and missionary associated with the Methodist Board. She is remembered for books that introduced China to English-language readers, especially at a time when many Americans knew little about the country beyond stereotypes and headlines.
Her best-known book, Ming-Kwong, City of the Morning Light (1924), became a study text on China for mission readers. Other works connected with her name include We Two Alone in Europe, William Xavier Ninde: A Memorial, and The Gateway to China, showing the range of her interests from travel writing to biography and cultural interpretation.
Gamewell died on August 26, 1947. Today she stands out as a writer who tried to make distant places feel vivid and human for her audience, combining firsthand experience with an accessible, conversational style.