One man looks back while all around are looking ahead

If you paint on a blank piece of paper, says a Chinese proverb, you may create a beautiful picture.

This surely applies to Guigang, which has ushered in a torrid pace of urbanization over the past decade, since it was designated a city, east of Nanning, capital of Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region.

While most of its 5 million residents are engaged in this frenzied effort of "painting new pictures" and designing a new city from scratch, local photographer Tan Chang is doing the opposite.