In a city experiencing rapid development, most of Nanjing&amp;#39;s old architecture is being torn down. Some older buildings remain scattered in southern Nanjing, where Sun grew up in.&amp;lt;br /&amp;gt;&amp;quot;I lived in southern Nanjing for more than 30 years,&amp;quot; says Sun. &amp;quot;In the past, there were a lot of big communal mansions, housing a lot of families.&amp;lt;br /&amp;gt;&amp;quot;All these families knew each other intimately. They spoke the most authentic Nanjing dialect, had the best street snacks and knew the best old Nanjing tales -- southern Nanjing is the root of Nanjing.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;a href=&amp;quot;http://travel.cnn.com/mini-guide-nanjing-939796&amp;quot;&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br /&amp;gt;MORE: Surprising Nanjing: Mini-guide to China&amp;#39;s ancient capital&amp;lt;/a&amp;gt;