Israel’s consulate in Shanghai recently posted many old photos on its blog Sina Weibo, a Chinese website similar to Twitter and Facebook. Its site translated into English is called Israel in China.

These photos which were taken by a Jewish photographer Sam Sanzetti, from the 1920s to the 1950s, triggered nostalgic feelings among Shanghai residents, who are recalling the beauty of the city during one of its most glorious periods.

Sam Sanzetti, whose real name is Sioma Lifshitz, arrived in Shanghai in 1922. After working for a short period as an apprentice for an American photographer, he opened his own studio in 1927 on 73 Nanjing Road. It was one of the best photo studios in Shanghai at the time. Sanzetti took photographs of people from all walks of life celebrities, film stars, young couples, families and children. Thirty years later in 1957 he left for Israel and carried in his luggage with more than 20,000 photographs that he took in Shanghai. Sanzetti passed away in Israel in 1986.