People gather at the bus station on the central avenue in Guangzhou city, South China's Guangdong Province, May 4, 1976. (Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn)
The Zhongshansi Road bus station is seen in Guangzhou city, South China's Guangdong Province, Sept. 7, 2018. The road today is twice as wide as the old one 40 years ago.(Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn)
A view from a window at Beijing Minzu Hotel, shows few high-rise buildings in 1979. (Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn)
The view today from a window at Beijing Minzu Hotel on Chang'an Avenue is dramatically different, Sept. 22, 2018. (Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn)
The banks of the Huangpu River in Shanghai are fairly undeveloped, seen from a window at the Fairmont Peace Hotel in the spring of 1979. (Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn)
Skyscrapers rise above the Huangpu River, as seen from the rooftop of the Fairmont Peace Hotel, Aug. 19, 2018. (Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn)
A woman pushes a child in a cart in Beijing, 1979. (Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn)
A child rides a bike and a woman walks two dogs on Damochang Hutong in Qianmen, Beijing, Sept 9, 2018. (Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn)
Students wait for a school bus in Beijing, 1979. (Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn)
Students peer at their mobile phones while waiting to cross the road at Dongdaqiao in Beijing's Chaoyang district, Sept 18, 2018. (Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn)
A street stall is set up in downtown Kaifeng city, Central China's Henan Province, in the 1980s. (Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn)
The former street stalls on Sihou Street in Kaifeng city, Central China's Henan Province, are replaced with a commercial plaza, Sept. 26, 2018. (Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn)
Bicycles are used to help move house in Yangzhou city in East China's Jiangsu Province in the 1980s. (Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn)
A man carries a refrigerator in a three-wheeled scooter on Guoqing Road, Yangzhou city, East China's Jiangsu province, Sept 22, 2018. (Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn)
Two men play chess on a bench in Shanghai, 1971. (Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn)
An elderly man plays chess online in Huzhou city, East China's Zhejiang province, May 25, 2014. (Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn)
An old fashioned sailboat is seen on the Huangpu River in Shanghai, 1980. (Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn)
A cruise ship makes its way past the modern skyline on the Huangpu River in Shanghai, Aug 14, 2018. (Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn)
A woman gets a perm in Shanghai, 1980. (Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn)
Women get their hair done in a modern hair salon in Shanghai, April 28, 2018. (Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn)
Workers are seen at a factory in Datong city, North China's Shanxi Province, 1973. (Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn)
Workers pose for a group photo in the workshop of a cable production company in Suzhou city, East China's Jiangsu Province, July 31, 2018. (Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn)
People in Shanghai line up to purchase food, in July of 1980. (Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn)
People line up in front of the cured meat shop of a time-honored brand in Liwan district of Guangzhou city in South China's Guangdong Province, July 31, 2018. (Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn)
Newlyweds pose for simple wedding photos in Shanghai, in August 1980. (Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn)
Newlyweds pose for elaborate wedding photos at the Temple of Heaven in Beijing, Sept 18, 2015. (Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn)
A woman buys an ice pop from a vendor in June 1973. (Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn)
A child buys ice cream using WeChat Pay at a shopping mall in Tianjin municipality, May 27, 2018. (Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn)
The interior of a bookstore is crammed with posters and books in August 1973. (Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn)
The interior of the fashionable Zhongshuge bookstore in Shanghai's Xuhui district is sleek and sophisticated, Sept 23, 2018. (Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn)
Four friends walk to the bank of the Changshou River in Chongqing in 1980. (Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn)
Four childhood friends take a photo years later at the riverside of the Changshou River in Chongqing, April 27, 2018. (Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn)
A Shanghai Brand car drives on Chang'an Avenue in Beijing, 1986. (Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn)
A young man drives a roadster through the CBD area in Beijing, Aug 5, 2018. (Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn)
A couple strolls through Tiananmen Square in Beijing in 1986. (Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn)
A couple walks through Tiananmen Square in Beijing on July 21, 2018. (Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn)
People use a telephone box by a road in Qianmen, Beijing, 1987 (Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn)
A couple walks past a deserted telephone box while the man talks on a mobile phone in Qianmen, Beijing in 2018. (Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn)
Two men watch a show on electrotechnics on a TV in Chengdu, Southwest China's Sichuan Province, in 1987. (Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn)
A senior citizen watches a health education show on TV in Yanjiao, North China's Hebei Province, Feb 5, 2015. (Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn)
A train engineer looks out the window of his train in Datong city, of North China's Shanxi province, in 1988. (Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn)
A train engineer peers out the door of the CRH5A high-speed train in Hunchun city, Northeast China's Jilin Province, April 27, 2018. (Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn)
A television in a citizen's home sits in a place of honor, 1979. (Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn)
A television years ago was a precious item. Television now is just a common home appliance, as seen in Huangpu district, Shanghai, Dec. 23, 2012. (Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn)
