Handmade shoes meet demand of modern feet

Dong Jianshe, 57, remembers how his grandmother's face would light up when he was a young child and his father bought home a new pair of shoes for her.

"They were small shoes with a cloth cover and leather soles. He would bring them home after work and my grandma would be very happy," Dong recalled.

Ten years ago, Dong became the general manager of Laomeihua, a century-old shoemaking store in Tianjin, which had made the shoes his grandmother was so fond of.