Visitors look at photos at the exhibition, which reveals the little-known side of Zhou Haiying as an amateur photographer. [Photo by Jiang Dong/China Daily]

His oeuvre of snapshots, mostly in black and white, provides historic details from both an individual and a collective perspective.

He said, "I find a pleasure in my own photography. Unconsciously, I've frozen moments of time for my family and others.

"I do not photograph for 'novelty hunting'. I only hope my snapshots can be a witness to current events."

For several decades after he first took up photography, Zhou Haiying never published any of his pictures. This was because he viewed his interest in photography as a personal thing and not as a profession. He said that he did once consider becoming a career photographer, but eventually, he chose radio technology as his job.

It was not until 2008 that his first photo exhibition was launched in Shanghai, a gift from his family to celebrate his upcoming 80th birthday.

Wu Weishan, the director of the National Art Museum of China and a family friend, recalls that, at the time, Zhou Haiying worried if his photos "were worthy of a public viewing, and whether or not they would disgrace his father's reputation". In the end, his fears were unfounded, because his debut was well-received.

Zhou Haiying's photos are candid, capturing moments when people are relaxed and naturally going about their daily routine, instead of being posed or prepared. His work, imbued with empathy and a sense of humor, evokes in the viewer a touch of warmth.

"He was against taking staged photos. He wanted real things," says Zhou Lingfei, his eldest son and president of Lu Xun Culture Foundation.