Chen Feng, 80, cleans fallen leaves at Fuzhou Ryukyu Cemetery in Fuzhou, Fujian province. [Photo by Ye Yilin / for chinadaily.com.cn]

Eighty-year-old Chen Feng has voluntarily safeguarded the tombs of ancient Japanese at a cemetery in Fuzhou, Fujian province, for over two decades.

Chen starts each day sweeping fallen leaves and occasionally acts as a guide at the cemetery, which is the resting place of nine Japanese who came to China during the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911). They were envoys, interpreters, students, sailors and merchants who passed away in Fuzhou.

At the time, Fuzhou was a major port for economic exchanges with Ryukyu, now Okinawa, which was an independent kingdom.