They call it Shenzhen's mini-Chinatown or a replica of Hong Kong's demolished Kowloon Walled City, with its maze of narrow, congested streets and back alleys.

Nantou Ancient City, covering an area of about half a square kilometer at a corner of the special economic zone's bustling Nanshan district, is today home to about 20,000 people, mostly descendants of the indigenous Cantonese population who first lived there.

The settlement was declared a protected cultural heritage by the Guangdong provincial government in 2002.

Many of the settlement's historic landmarks and fortifications remain, most having been rebuilt or renovated, such as the reconstructed yamen (government offices) located in the heart of the settlement. The Dongguan Guild - the favorite rendezvous for officials, traders as well as the common folk - is said to be one of several buildings whose original facades have been preserved.

Part of the imposing South Gate surrounding the establishment still stands, a stark reminder of the threat posed to residents by Japanese pirates during the reign of the Ming Dynasty.

The northern city gate is located in Shenzhen's oldest park, Zhongshan Park, which was completed in 1925.

A dilapidated prison located at one end of the fortress-like settlement had been pulled down to make way for a new cluster of houses, many of which were built shortly after the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949.

Nantou Ancient City has been a key tourist attraction, with the Museum of Ancient Fortress on Nantou having played host to hundreds of thousands of visitors since its opening in 2004.

A stroll through the ancient city takes the visitor to some 200 shops, many of which are owned by Hong Kong people, but are leased out to local merchants. It's where you can put up in one of the scores of guesthouses for as low as 30 yuan a night, have a haircut for eight yuan or tuck in a steamed bun for five jiao (cents).

A bun vendor told China Daily that on a fine day, he could make up to 100 yuan daily, and the worst would come when it rains when the streets would be heavily flooded.

To the visitor, Nantou Ancient City may be an astonishing sight, but to those who had their roots there, it would be an unforgettable trip down memory lane when and if they do get back.

(HK Edition 12/14/2012 page4)