Xiahao Old Street. [Photo by Tan Yingzi/China Daily]

Ao Wei, the owner of Frozen Green House, is a freelancer. She has dedicated herself to preserving the old parts of Chongqing for years and written articles about the old town.

Inspired and touched by the young people's actions, the residents feel they should do something too to make their community more beautiful.

Wang Zhaoqun, who runs a mahjong parlor, has placed dozens of pots with colorful plants along the street.

"So many tourists come to visit our community now, so we should make the place more welcoming," Wang says.

Shui Bijun, a graduate student at Sichuan University of Foreign Studies in Chongqing, was on a photo shoot with her classmates in Xiahao.

"I read about it on blogs and it is much more interesting than those modern sightseeing sites," she says.