Teng Yongshan and his flatirons [Photo by Wang Shuqiao/for or or chinadaily.com.cn]

Teng Yongshan has collected more than 30 old flatirons since 2000 when he bought the first one.

Teng, 48, a teacher from a secondary vocational school in Jilin city, Northeast China's Jilin province, has a great interest in costume designing.

"The history of flatiron can be traced back to the Shang (16th century BC-11th century BC) and Zhou (11th century BC- 256 BC) dynasties," said Teng. "The oldest one I have is from the Jin Dynasty (265-420)."

"These collections have great historic value as they tell us a lot about the lifestyle of people in the ancient times," he said. "I hope to collect more flatirons in the future."