Nearly 50 years ago, Shen Jian got a job making Baile-brand accordions at the Shanghai Accordion Factory. The factory is long gone — closed during a round of state-owned enterprise consolidation in the early 2000s — and demand for accordions has shrunk, but Shen remains, running a factory on the outskirts of Shanghai.

By his own admission, his decision has cost him everything: the factory has struggled to earn money, and the stress of running it broke up his marriage. But against all odds, Shen has kept his factory open.

Now, the 67-year-old has an ambitious plan to revive the Baile brand — an icon of China’s socialist past. But will anyone buy what he’s selling?

Contributions: Ding Yining, Dong Kaiyan, Liu Zhuo’er, and Zhou Zhijian.