Mention the northern Chinese city of Tianjin and many people will instantly think of its famous foods: Tianjin mahua - fried dough-twists, and goubuli baozi - a kind of steamed stuffed bun. With over 10 million residents, Tianjin is one of the biggest industrial and ports in China, but there is more to this dynamic city than its modern facade. Laochengxiang, the oldest residential area in Tianjin is sometimes described as a living fossil.

The Only Chromophotograph of the Drum Tower

The establishment of Laochengxiang over 600 years ago turned a new page in Tianjin's history, marking the beginning of its urban development. However, with the passage of time, many once grand old houses in the area have been reduced to shabby ruins, calling for urgent reconstruction.

In 2003, the government embarked on a reconstruction project, enabling more than 70,000 residents to move from unsanitary tenements in perilously bad repair, to spacious homes in new residential areas. But despite the old town's decay and inconveniences, residents who moved into modern new communities are sometimes nostalgic for their past lives in Laochengxiang.

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