The covers of Baipu Town Chronicles (L) and Chengdong Town Chronicles. [Photo/Nantong Daily]

More than 50 chronicles of towns and villages in Nantong, East China's Jiangsu province, have been published in recent years thanks to efforts by authorities.

Among them, Chengdong Town Chronicles is the earliest about a renowned town in Nantong.

A page of Baipu Town Chronicles. [Photo/Nantong Daily]

"Town chronicles preserve the memories of old generations and promote outstanding traditional culture," noted Sun Baofeng, executive editor-in-chief of Chengdong Town Chronicles.

"The atmosphere of the ancient town, its local specialties, its status as the town of longevity, its folk art, and tourism are what we mainly focus on in the town chronicles," said Shi Weiming, editor-in-chief of Baipu Town Chronicles.

A photo in Chengdong Town Chronicles. [Photo/Nantong Daily]

Shi said he believes that chronicles will be widely well-received by both local residents and other people interested in the town.

Unlike traditional town chronicles, which have millions of words, Nantong's chronicles each have only about 100,000 words as they use audio, videos and in place of literary explanations.

For example, many pages of Chengdong Town Chronicles are printed with QR codes that allow people to watch videos or listen to audio while reading.