The first photo in Tong's collection shows a village in Shanxi province. [Photo by Tong Bingxue/For China Daily]

A precious relic from tumultuous times

Ye's collection of portraits have been deemed remarkable because most Chinese were not able to afford to have photos of themselves taken during the early 20th century as China was gripped by a series of wars. Furthermore, the tradition in some regions in China is to burn or discard the possessions of those who have died.

Tong, who majored in journalism in university and works as a television producer, said that he has never seen a photo of his grandfather while his parents only had a few images of themselves.

The 48-year-old's interest in old photos started in 2000 when he was looking for paintings to decorate his apartment in Beijing.

After discovering that most of the paintings available at the art market were of low quality, he visited the Panjiayuan Antique Market in Beijing where he was enthralled with an old photo of a village in Shanxi province that was set in a rosewood frame. Tong immediately bought the photo and had it hung on a wall in his home.

"To me, an old photo is a moment in history which tells stories and it produces a special charm. It's more significant than hanging replica paintings on the wall," said Tong.

"It's so easy for everyone to have his own photo collection. You can even create one using images shot on mobile phones. But I still suggest that people should, like Ye, dress formally and have their portraits taken by a professional photo studio, because browsing these photos that are printed on exquisite paper will help you to reflect and calm down."

Following that incident, Tong would walk around antique markets in Beijing every weekend in search of old photos. He would also be on the constant lookout for such images whenever he was abroad. At the beginning, Tong's family could not understand why he would spend money on portraits of unknown people, most of whom were already dead.