Watches are not as precious today as they once were.

But to Liu Pinyi, 83, watches are priceless. The Beijing watch repairman has nearly 200 old watches filling two drawers in his shop. They aren't his. He repaired them, but their owners never came for them.
Liu has been fixing watches for 60 years. Twenty year ago, he opened a watch repair shop named Jingshi. Thanks to his exquisite skills, inexpensive charges, and trustworthiness, his shop won the favor of local residents and was famed far and wide. Liu himself has also been greatly honored. He has kept some watches neglected by their owners for up to eight years. They are not antiques, and thus have no collectible value. Some are only worth three or four yuan each.

"I keep these watches because they are possessions of my customers," Liu said recently. "Whenever they come, they can take their watches back."

More than a year ago, his shop moved because of urban planning. Therefore, some old customers missed its location. Liu thus got high blood pressure from anxiousness. Not long ago, he heard that Ganluyuan Nanli, the neighborhood where his shop is now located, would be removed. The news embarrassed Liu much. He says he just wants a settled place to fix watches for customers.

As living standards rise, old watches lose their value. Some customers, however, travel every corner of the city to have their watches repaired. Ironically, Liu travels everywhere to find a place to repair watches, not for himself, but for others.

(China Pictorial  March 3, 2004)