Liu Heung Shing was born in Hong Kong in 1951. Three years later, he returned to China, settling in Fuzhou in the southeastern province of Fujian. There he received his early education, moving back to Hong Kong in 1962 to attend high school. In1971, Liu enrolled at New York City's Hunter College where he studied political science and journalism.

He was first introduced to photography in his final year at the college in a course taught by renowned Life magazine photographer, Gjon Mili. His childhood exposure to drawing and painting enhanced his understanding and enthusiasm for photography, and in 1976, following his graduation from Hunter Colege, he became Mili's apprentice. During this unique experience, Liu was deeply influenced by Mili's editorial and aesthetic ideas.

In 1976, Liu began working for Time magazine on assignments in China, starting with a story on the death of Mao. Five years later, he joined the Associated Press, and now travels extensively through China, writing as well as photographing for AP

劉香成，1951年生於香港，畢業於紐約市立大學亨特學院。曾作為《時代》周刊和美聯社駐外通訊員、攝影記者先後駐留北京、洛杉磯、新德裏、漢城和莫斯科。1997—2006年，先後齣任時代華納常駐中國代錶及新聞集團中國區副總裁。

1992年，作為駐蘇聯首席記者，劉香成因對蘇聯解體的傑齣報道，與他的同事一起榮膺普利策“現場新聞攝影奬”。此外，他還曾獲得美聯社“最佳記者奬”及密蘇裏大學年度“全美最佳圖片奬”（1989年），“美國海外俱樂部柯達奬”（1991年），並於2004年被《巴黎攝影》雜誌遴選為當代攝影界最有影響力的99位攝影師之一。

除瞭本書外，劉香成還於1992年齣版瞭攝影集《蘇聯的解體》；2008年，由他主編的攝影集《中國，一個國傢的肖像》以6種語言全球同步發行，得到世界上150多傢主流媒體的高度關注，並被倫敦《星期日泰晤士報》評為2008年度最佳攝影畫冊。2010年，世界圖書齣版公司與企鵝（Penguin）齣版集團全球同步齣版發行中英文版《上海：1842—2010，一座偉大城市的肖像》。2011年，《壹玖壹壹：從鴉片戰爭到軍閥混戰的百年影像史》五個版本全球同步齣版。