Young Chinese look to snapshot of the past for a perfect present

SHENZHEN — In a twist, the long-forgotten CCD digital camera, once deemed "electronic waste" and pushed aside by the technological tide, is making a comeback among young Chinese as the new darlings used for documenting their lives.

Despite their slightly blurry images and less vibrant colors, these devices, once available for a few tens of yuan, are now going for thousands. The surge in price and popularity is being fueled by the retro nostalgia trend sweeping China's youth.

"Prices have multiplied more than tenfold, and all my friends are buying them," says Tang Lili, a post-90s woman working in the southern metropolis of Shenzhen, Guangdong province.