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

刘香成，1951年生于香港，毕业于纽约市立大学亨特学院。曾作为《时代》周刊和美联社驻外通讯员、摄影记者先后驻留北京、洛杉矶、新德里、汉城和莫斯科。1997—2006年，先后出任时代华纳常驻中国代表及新闻集团中国区副总裁。

1992年，作为驻苏联首席记者，刘香成因对苏联解体的杰出报道，与他的同事一起荣膺普利策“现场新闻摄影奖”。此外，他还曾获得美联社“最佳记者奖”及密苏里大学年度“全美最佳图片奖”（1989年），“美国海外俱乐部柯达奖”（1991年），并于2004年被《巴黎摄影》杂志遴选为当代摄影界最有影响力的99位摄影师之一。

除了本书外，刘香成还于1992年出版了摄影集《苏联的解体》；2008年，由他主编的摄影集《中国，一个国家的肖像》以6种语言全球同步发行，得到世界上150多家主流媒体的高度关注，并被伦敦《星期日泰晤士报》评为2008年度最佳摄影画册。2010年，世界图书出版公司与企鹅（Penguin）出版集团全球同步出版发行中英文版《上海：1842—2010，一座伟大城市的肖像》。2011年，《壹玖壹壹：从鸦片战争到军阀混战的百年影像史》五个版本全球同步出版。