In 1921, the author, then an infant, crossed the sea from Kyushu and first came to Shanghai to live in a house with a shikume gate on a longtang alley. During 70 years' living here, the author has observed residents' close relation with their lanes and the decline of lilong with the improvement in the standard of living. The time has come for the old longtang alleys, which are 60 to 70 years old and have lost their purpose, to vanish. The author has been recording the images of longtang in photographs over several years as a reminder of the past.
