In the 1930s Chan Chik, though poor, managed to study painting with Xu Yongging by cleaning the classroom in lieu of paying the monthly fee of $10. In those days a family on low income could subsist on $5 a month. He won first prize in a poster composition.
When the Sino-Japanese War broke out Chan Chik, then about twenty, became a war reporter. He travelled extensively in China and witnessed many battles, recording with his camera many scenes of Japanese brutality. These left an indelible memory, and to this day he does not allow himself to forget for a moment that he is Chinese.
A reporter for Ta Kung Pao from the 1930s, Chan Chik knows every corner of Hong Kong. He likes to roam poor neighbourhoods photographing labourers, fishermen, peasants and derelicts, for whom he feels a certain closeness. Many of his photographs bear witness to the social changes that have taken place in Hong Kong since the 1930s.
Chan Chik has held solo exhibitions and published books and many articles.