The past is prologue

At Moyu Office, a photo studio in Beijing, 20-year-old store manager Liang Jiaqiu from Fuxin, Liaoning province, captures moments using a Polaroid Big Shot camera. Guests hold their breath for a minute and a half as the image develops, eagerly peeling apart the film with delight.

This peel-apart instant film, a now-discontinued photographic paper, has recently gained popularity among young people for its distinctive color tones and nostalgic shooting experience.

According to Liang, since the store introduced its Polaroid service last October, it has become a major hit — especially after celebrities like Ouyang Nana and Ju Jingyi shared their experiences online.

This interest in instant photography is just one example of a broader trend — a wave of nostalgia sweeping through the lives of many young people. From newspaper-style wedding announcements to childhood snacks, toys, and millennial-era aesthetics, retro culture is making a strong comeback.

On May 23, Ma Xiaochen, a groom from Changchun, Jilin province, published a wedding announcement in a local newspaper. The message read: "With a promise of growing old together, written on this paper" — a gesture that recalls a ritual once popular during the Republic of China period (1912-49).

Ma, who works at a newspaper himself, said such services have long existed, but are now seeing renewed interest among younger generations. He paid 199 yuan ($27.72) for a small section of the paper, though costs vary depending on the publication and the size of the announcement.

"It's true that you can buy this kind of ritual for just a few hundred yuan," he said. "But the time and effort — contacting the newspaper, choosing photos, writing the announcement — can't be matched by simply posting on WeChat Moments. The whole process makes the memory more vivid and meaningful over time."

This growing appreciation for the past is also playing out online, where creators are reimagining retro aesthetics for the digital age. Zhu Ziyan, 24, and Guo Shuwen, 25, from Qingdao, Shandong province, co-manage a Xiaohongshu account dedicated to millennial-inspired visuals.

Using collage techniques, they blend elements like QQ Space graphics, pixelated GIFs, and vintage fashion. Styles and everyday items from two or three decades ago are once again capturing the hearts of today's youth.

Their fan group has around 500 members, mostly from the post-90s and post-00s generations. Interestingly, the most active participants are actually those born after 2005. They eagerly share retro materials they've collected or created themselves.

"Many of them didn't experience these things firsthand, but still find them oddly familiar — perhaps through items passed down from older siblings or family members," Zhu said. "These objects feel both intimate and nostalgic, yet bring a sense of novelty and excitement."

That same feeling of warmth brought by vintage items can be found at Liu Feng's Peter Pan Old Toys & Snacks Portal. Tucked away in Beijing's 798 Art District, the store feels like a "time tunnel", filled with enamel mugs, wind-up tin frogs, and Dragon Ball comics that invite customers to revisit the past.

In 2017, Liu left his job as an internet product manager to open the store. Since then, he has collected more than 200 types of childhood snacks, 100 retro toys, and 50 old-school household goods.

The most touching scenes occur when parents bring their children and introduce them to classic toys like Tetris consoles and Hua Rong Dao puzzles.

"These are way more fun than mobile phones," Liu often hears them say. The children are just as excited. "Amid the laughter, a cultural exchange and emotional bond between generations quietly takes shape," Liu said.

Past or future

Zhu reflects on her state of mind when she and Guo launched their account in March 2024. Fresh out of university and searching for a job, the uncertainty about the future made her long for the carefree days of childhood.

"I don't think nostalgia is a bad thing," she said. "We're shaped by our past — the love we received, the people we knew, the experiences we had. Back then, they might not have seemed important, but years later they can hit you like a bullet. These retro elements are like time capsules, sealed away to awaken memories in the future."

Guo, too, still finds comfort in playing Mole Manor and rewatching old episodes of Gintama. "Memories are my safe haven," she said, explaining how she enjoys creating millennial-inspired aesthetics during breaks from her job in cross-border e-commerce.

"Reality changes too much and too fast, and you can't stop it. All you can do is build a sense of stability for yourself," she added.

But for her, nostalgia isn't just about reliving the past — it's about discovering new meaning. Revisiting old books or items at different stages in life can bring fresh insights. To her, nostalgia can reflect both the present and future.

Ma describes retro gestures like wedding announcements in newspapers as a "sense of substance and history". "Writing on paper means existing on a real, tangible medium. It can become part of history rather than just fleetingly existing online, making the words more enduring and affectionate," he said.

He referenced a theory from The Three-Body Problem, suggesting that newspapers, in his view, are the next best carriers of civilization after stone. "Perhaps when human civilization ends and hard drives are gone, newspapers will still leave a trace," he said.

Commerce vs emotion

But nostalgia comes at a price. At the photo studio, for example, a single peel-apart instant photo costs 499 yuan.

Since this type of film is no longer in production, the remaining stock is often expired, leading to potential color shifts or chemical leaks during development. Customers are asked to "accept all possible imperfections".

Running the studio isn't cheap either. Film that once cost just a few dozen yuan per piece now sells for around 300 yuan, and vintage cameras frequently require expensive repairs, Liang explained.

Some question whether such purchases are "short-lived emotional consumption" unlikely to endure. Liang, however, sees lasting value in the experience. "There's something special about the ritual of peeling off the film," she said. "Each shot feels precious because the film is no longer produced. Unlike digital photos that need to be imported and edited, this gives you instant satisfaction."

Liu, who has operated his store for eight years, understands the lasting appeal of retro culture. He believes that blending the old with the new helps keep the past alive.

His store once sold a modified version of the classic toy "balance ball", redesigned to incorporate the Beijing Central Axis, which was added to the World Heritage List in 2024. The toy's grooves mapped out landmarks such as the Forbidden City and the Bird's Nest.

Located in the 798 Art District, Liu also collaborated with local artists to create original designs inspired by the area. These designs were then turned into magnets and printed on enamel cups.

"Old items can either be displayed like museum pieces or creatively reimagined to connect with the present, making them useful and appealing once more," he said. "When that happens, they often become bestsellers all over again."

guiqian@i21st.cn