The Death and Life of Old Beijing
A firsthand account of the Chinese capital's struggles to preserve its past in the face of rapid development and Olympic glory.
![The Death and Life of Old Beijing](https://www.architecturalrecord.com/ext/resources/Static_Images/Slideshow-Fixes/Slideshow-Fixes-13/Old-Beijing/Death-Life-Old-Beijing-01.jpg?height=720&t=1465400641)
The Hand shows itself on doomed buildings.
Photo © Tim Griffith
![The Death and Life of Old Beijing](https://www.architecturalrecord.com/ext/resources/Static_Images/Slideshow-Fixes/Slideshow-Fixes-13/Old-Beijing/Death-Life-Old-Beijing-02.jpg?height=720&t=1465400679)
The Hand shows itself on doomed buildings.
Photo © Tim Griffith
![The Death and Life of Old Beijing](https://www.architecturalrecord.com/ext/resources/Static_Images/Slideshow-Fixes/Slideshow-Fixes-13/Old-Beijing/Death-Life-Old-Beijing-03.jpg?height=720&t=1465400718)
A view into the interior of a hutong.
Photo © Clifford Pearson
![The Death and Life of Old Beijing](https://www.architecturalrecord.com/ext/resources/Static_Images/Slideshow-Fixes/Slideshow-Fixes-13/Old-Beijing/Death-Life-Old-Beijing-04.jpg?t=1465400756&width=1080)
The Yanshou Jie (Prolong Life Street) market in Dazhalan.
Photo © Theodore Wright
![The Death and Life of Old Beijing](https://www.architecturalrecord.com/ext/resources/Static_Images/Slideshow-Fixes/Slideshow-Fixes-13/Old-Beijing/Death-Life-Old-Beijing-05.jpg?t=1465400807&width=1080)
New two-story houses.
Photo © Tim Griffith
![The Death and Life of Old Beijing](https://www.architecturalrecord.com/ext/resources/Static_Images/Slideshow-Fixes/Slideshow-Fixes-13/Old-Beijing/Death-Life-Old-Beijing-06.jpg?t=1465400917&width=1080)
High-rises replace century-old courtyard homes in this complex just south of Tiananmen Square, which includes a Wal-Mart.
Photo © Michael Meyer
![The Death and Life of Old Beijing](https://www.architecturalrecord.com/ext/resources/Static_Images/Slideshow-Fixes/Slideshow-Fixes-13/Old-Beijing/Death-Life-Old-Beijing-07.jpg?t=1465400996&width=1080)
Qianmen (Front Gate) Avenue has been remade into a pedestrian shopping mall, with buildings that replicate the street's appearance in 1949.
Photo © Michael Meyer
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