the tell dpram revolutionized the-- telegram-- the way the world operates. with the advent of new technology, the telegram became obsolete in many countries. rob mcbride from shanghai. >> reporter: this lady is to do something something very few of her generation will ever do. send a telegram to her parents. one of china's last remaining telegraph counters is in this telecom office in shanghai. the city was one of the first linked to the telegraph system and will likely be among the last to hold on to it. >> translation: it's nostalgic for my parents. they're from a time when people used to write letters so this will be like a souvenir for them to keep >> reporter: the telegram begins its journey first by faction, sent to another diabetesing - fax where it will then be transmitted. this low tech in a high tech world. they are then sent over a network that uses machinery that is about as sophisticated as it will ever become. a museum to the telegraph charts the progress of the service from its even more primitive beginnings. including the code books that gave