The Last Days Of Old Beijing: Life In The Vanishing Backstreets Of A City Transformed (2008) - Plot & Excerpts
If you have the patience for a long read, this book is fascinating. Written by an American teaching 4th grade Chinese students in a Chinese school, while continuing to live in true 'hutong' style. Meyer compares/contrasts the old Bejing with the new push to be 'modern' for the Olympics. 'Modern' means the government's elimination of several centuries of architecture, life styles and employment. He explains [quite well!] the Chinese government's perception of what China looks like to the outside world, and how this unseen government 'hand' has attempted to make itself appear current and worldly. Unfortunately, interior Bejing has become a horizontal and vertical concrete slab. Much of the flavor of a generations-old city is gone- and not much has been done to preserve the history. In fact, much of the history has been eradicated. Excellent view of some of the changes taking place in China. This book focuses primarily on Beijing, China, especially life in the hutong's. The hutongs are traditional homes that are a single story tall and centered around a shared courtyard, with rooms in each often rented by different families and joined together with other similar homes in a long row with tiny lanes separating them. Many of the families also rented work spaces for their businesses. Much of the discussion in this memoir is about the change from hutongs to Western style high rise apartment buildings, many without elevators. The tales often surround many of the friends the author made while living in a hutong for several years as an English teacher.
What do You think about The Last Days Of Old Beijing: Life In The Vanishing Backstreets Of A City Transformed (2008)?
Fascinating read. Sad that this way of life is coming to an end.
—wtf
Ordered on the basis of a fabulous Chicago Tribune review.
—demonslayer00
Interesting, but could have been half as long
—VampireRomance98
