THROUGH his 20-year collection of stamps and badges, Sun Maoxing, 56, has recorded Shanghai's development in a special and simple way. Fei Lai checks out the content.

People collect different things and they collect these things for lots of reasons. Most do it for fun. However, for Sun Maoxing, a 56-year-old worker from Yangpu District, collecting is a little more than fun. It is something that reveals history, culture and development.

Through his 20 years' collection of stamps and badges, Sun has recorded Shanghai's development in a special and simple way.

"I might not be the one who has the most objects and the rarest," Sun says. "But I'm proud of it because my collection spans from 1949 till now and it is local. By following the collection through, even people from other cities and provinces can easily learn about the city's development.''

For the past 21 years, Sun has never stopped collecting badges. Every weekend, he goes to the market on Baotou Road in the district to see if there is anything worth picking up.

He has accumulated more than 5,000 badges in many different categories. His collections have been exhibited on more than 20 occasions.

City memories

The last time was in late May when Sun selected 500 badges and displayed them at Yangpu Library as part of activities celebrating the 60th anniversary of Shanghai's liberation.

He has collected badges since 1988. "The badges are concentrates of Shanghai's history over the recent 60 years, revealing how the city got to where it is now," Sun says. "The badges can talk indeed."

The theme of his latest exhibition was "City Memories of Shanghai" and it attracted and fascinated the elderly and the young.

"The old people favor the badges with a historical background such as those from the days during the 'cultural revolution' (1966-1976), while the young have more interest in how their school badges looked," Sun says.

"People enjoy the badges because these small articles awake long-sleeping memories from the past."

Although Sun has exhibited his badges at district and city levels, he clearly remembers five years ago when he lost a golden opportunity of having an exhibition organized by the Shanghai Archives.

The exhibition aimed to show the city's development with archives from local residents. In spite of his huge collection, Sun had not classified his badges so, without a clear theme, he was told he could not exhibit.

Learning from this, he spent the next three months classifying the badges. Categories such as city memories, sports, the "cultural revolution," school badges and tourism were included. He also divided sections like sports into more specialized areas like sports management, Olympics, national games, table tennis and student sport.

"At first, the collections were hung on old clothes in my wardrobe. But later they were stored in glass frames or fine boxes," Sun says. "Finally, they get to reach people."

Several communities have invited him to show his collections. Although there is no profit, Sun is willing to loan the badges.

"I hope more people can see these things," Sun says. "It's also my dream to hold a solo exhibition during the World Expo 2010 in Shanghai."

Patience needed

Sun's theme collection "Shanghai Walks towards the Expo" was displayed at the third Shanghai Archive Day in April. The badges he selected featured landmarks of Shanghai, including Yuyuan Garden, Broadway Mansions Hotel, Oriental Pearl TV Tower, Jin Mao Tower and Pudong International Airport.

Sun says there are three ways to collect -- buy the items at markets, barter with others or accept them as presents from friends and relatives.

The collector is very dedicated to his hobby. In 1993 he met a collector from Nanjing, Jiangsu Province, at the collectors' market on Zhaojiabang and Taiyuan roads. He spotted that the Nanjing collector wore a badge from the Chinese Olympic Committee. That was something he really wanted. He talked, negotiated and bargained.

Finally, he paid 40 yuan (US$5.85), one-sixth of his monthly salary at that time, and got the badge.

"Collecting badges is not an easy task. No one can have a complete collection with every badge," Sun says. "Don't be in a hurry. Patience is a virtue and we also need to keep an eye on our own lives."

The same philosophy is applied by Sun when he collects other items.

For the past 20 years, he has collected his own salary sheet, not missing a single one. From 50 yuan in the 1980s to the current 3,000 yuan or so, Sun considers it reflects the fruit of China's reform and opening up.

Since 1979, he has been a big stamp collector as well. What is unique about his stamp collection is that he keeps his family's activities on a stamp file.

"I've been filing for 12 years, which has given me a lot of knowledge about how to maintain archives," Sun says.

He keeps one file for his daughter. When great and meaningful moments and turning points such as birthdays, graduations and winning awards come round, he sends a letter to his daughter. The letters are usually highlighted with a postmark of the exact day and fine stamps. Sun hopes to record his child's growth with these special stamps.

The stamps have also helped class reunions for his middle school classmates.

"It's amazing that 44 out of 56 classmates have been found through a single list from that year," the collector says.

"We've had three parties. Each time we meet, I ask them to sign their names on the envelope and I send it to the post office that very day."

Now the classmates have decided to have another get-together after the World Expo 2010. Sun says there must be a lot more to share after participating in the event.

"The understanding of collecting is that however rich you are, it is impossible to collect everything. It doesn't matter how poor you are, you can start collecting something," Sun says.

"Be interested in it. Have fun. Do what you are capable of. That's all I expect from newcomers."