Keepers of the century past

He adds that for both Shantou emigrants and those who have spent part of their life in the old town, the Small Park area evokes nostalgia.

Eighty-year-old Shen Wei, who lived in the area for more than four decades, keeps revisiting with camera in hand, to wander about and enjoy local snacks.

When he encounters overseas Chinese, either on their own or in groups, who have come to reminisce about the past, he is more than willing to accompany them. He still remembers helping one elderly woman from Malaysia find the textiles center where her father had once worked.

For years Shen has been studying the city's history with a group of elderly volunteers, and is writing a personal memoir of his beloved home, in which vivid old town scenes are indispensable — including mentions of the antique bookstore, games of hide-and-seek in the spider web-like neighborhood, and the colors that the sunrise and sunset project on the buildings.

Although his eyesight is getting worse, he still feels a responsibility to keep writing. "It's not the number of days you live, but the number of days you remember that matters," reads the intro on the cover of his handwritten memoir.

Yang Lurong and Wang Zhengxing contributed to this story.