Lady of the museum

She is a collector of old things, and sometimes she gives the illusion that she herself has just stepped out of a poster from yesteryear.

When she is dressed in a qipao, Wang Xiaojia looks like she has just finished posing for one of those movie posters in 1930s' Shanghai, especially when the photograph uses her private museum as the backdrop.

Wang calls herself a retro-holic, and she has collected thousands of items, big and small, reminiscent of old Shanghai. Born in the 1980s, she is perhaps the youngest private museum owner in the city.

She adores anything vintage.

When she keeps her tresses long, Wang likes wearing skirts like those Audrey Hepburn wore in the film Roman Holiday. When her hair is cropped short, she prefers the formal attire of the British gentleman just about to attend Ascot or the Cheltenham races.

Her life is all about collecting old-fashioned items and receiving guests visiting her museum.

"All these objects are like my children — I can tell stories behind every one," she says.

The 200-square-meter museum has collections of vintage qipao, watches and bags, rusty tins for cigarettes and household articles used by old Shanghai families ranging from glassware to ashtrays, light bulbs, wash basins, thermos bottles and wardrobes.

Wang calls her museum Shanghai Memories 1937, named after an era when her city's prosperity?rivaled that of Paris and New York.

"These exhibits are not expensive or rare, but people feel a connection to them. Visitors are reminded of times past and the beautiful memories," she says.

Wang grew up in a big family living in the traditional stone-arched shikumen lane houses.