The Last Days of Old Beijing: Life in the Vanishing Backstreets of a City Transformed
Michael Meyeramazon.com
The Last Days of Old Beijing: Life in the Vanishing Backstreets of a City Transformed
Originally Red Bayberry and Bamboo was named after a matchmaker who arranged marriages on the lane. After the custom was deemed a relic of feudalism, municipal authorities swapped her name (yang) and profession (mei) for homophones that mean Red Bayberry (yangmei), then added bamboo (zhu). The name reflects the apothecaries who worked here, and the
... See moreMichael Meyer • The Last Days of Old Beijing: Life in the Vanishing Backstreets of a City Transformed
A Beijing courtyard home, in contrast, turns its face inward, hiding its most attractive features behind gates and walls.
Michael Meyer • The Last Days of Old Beijing: Life in the Vanishing Backstreets of a City Transformed
In 2005, the state-run media reported that only thirteen hundred hutong remained.
Michael Meyer • The Last Days of Old Beijing: Life in the Vanishing Backstreets of a City Transformed
Sichuan province. I was posted to a city named Neijiang (Inner River), located on a bend of the Tuo River.
Michael Meyer • The Last Days of Old Beijing: Life in the Vanishing Backstreets of a City Transformed
The former campus—where I had spent two of the happiest years of my life—had been erased.
Michael Meyer • The Last Days of Old Beijing: Life in the Vanishing Backstreets of a City Transformed
Minnesota home. Here, I also met my future wife. For me, Beijing was simply love at first sight.
Michael Meyer • The Last Days of Old Beijing: Life in the Vanishing Backstreets of a City Transformed
The job was a voyeur’s dream, but a bad one.
Michael Meyer • The Last Days of Old Beijing: Life in the Vanishing Backstreets of a City Transformed
British attaché recorded that in 1865 Lord Stanley sneered, “Peking’s a giant failure, isn’t it? Not a two-storied house in the whole place, eh?”