'Meet me at Wangfujing': Tales from a Beijing neighborhood

In those days, it was much quieter when I would walk from Jiaodaokou. Heading south I could see buildings become larger as I approached the main commercial center of Wangfujing. Equally fascinating hutong alleys stretched east and westward, once home to prominent residents such as the renowned modern novelist Lao She. He lived on Fengdu Hutong in a traditional courtyard for 13 years starting in 1949. His works were strongly influenced by life in Beijing, including Rickshaw Boy, regarded as a classic of 20th-century Chinese literature. The book talks about the life of a fictional Beijing rickshaw man. Interestingly, on the north end of pedestrian Wangfujing is a metal replica of a rickshaw, along with other statues depicting traditional Beijing characters. A very popular location for photography.