Journey into history

Some of the residences have been renovated and operated as guesthouses for visitors today.

Zhang also serves as a tourist guide, safety patroller and ticket seller during bloom seasons — March for rape flowers and August and September for sunflowers — besides taking photos.

His lifelong passion is "recording the Jiayang steam train".

On short-video platform Douyin, Zhang has posted more than 900 videos, capturing the railroad scenes out of the country's past.

Garnering more than 730,000 likes, his account has attracted about 60,000 followers. A Douyin user named Yunwuxin comments, "Your posts bring our childhood memories back."