Xinhua Headlines: Past and present: 40 years of change in the lives of the Chinese people

The upper part of this combo photo taken by Tang Shouxin on Aug. 6, 1999 shows nine-year-old Tang Shiyan washing dishes at home in Chang'an Town of Dongguan, south China's Guangdong Province. She lived in an apartment allotted by her father's work unit. The lower part of the combo photo taken by Liu Dawei on Nov. 1, 2018 shows 28-year-old Tang Shiyan washing dishes at his parents' tradable residential house. Tang Shiyan is now a lawyer. (Xinhua)