Fulfilling a Beijing courtyard dream

It would be very easy to stay permanently within that world of old Beijing, its courtyards and alleys, and simply forget what was going on outside. After all, I had everything I wanted. It was a content feeling just walking every day and learning more of the local area and of the lives of its inhabitants. However, go out I did, for Beijing was changing, particularly in preparation for its forthcoming bid for the 2008 Olympics. The city was engaged in a major renovation and modernization drive.

A regular walk of mine headed south, passing the National Art Museum of China, to reach Wangfujing Street. Although my interest was the Foreign Languages Bookstore, the street was changing. Its southern section had become a pedestrian street, with two of Beijing's early international malls opening. The shopping and dining experiences offered something a world apart from the almost timeless existence I pursued within my quiet hutong alleys. It nearly became the best of both worlds, particularly on a cold, wet winter's day.

To really appreciate what was happening to Beijing beyond the historic alleys, I traveled out west on a beautiful July day in 2000 to the Central Television Tower close to Yuyuantan Park. From the viewing platform the panoramas were stunning, revealing incredible vistas of the city. I could look out as far as the Western Hills where urban Beijing ended, and then do a visual sweep of the city’s expansion outward and upward. Below me stretched the wide carriageways of the Third Ring Road heading toward the cavernous Beijing West Railway Station, which was a regular departure and arrival point for my China travels. From the television tower it proved difficult to locate the older areas where I lived and spent most of my time, reflecting the scale of the city's growth from its pre-1949 core.