Seems like the photo was taken with a really crappy camera. Or someone just put a yellow filter over it.

Funny thing: tech in China was actually behind by 10+ years compared to western standards. Look at an episode from the 1985 edition of Journey to the West, the special effects look like a Doctor Who episode from the Tom Baker Era.

I still remember getting our first color TV in 2002, and that involved moving our old BW TV to the Master Bedroom. Dial-up Internet was also being used in 2007. Both of these examples were in metro Shanghai, which was the hub of development during these times.

A picture from 1940s would most likely be BW (as is the case with 60s era pictures of my great grandparents). While what you see is considered "90s-2000s" era for China.