The Search for a Vanishing Beijing: A Guide to China's Capital Through the Ages

The Search for a Vanishing Beijing weaves the
genres of travel essays and travel guides into
a comprehensive narrative about the cultural
mosaic of the capital of China. The author
leads the reader through palaces, temples,
back streets and markets while bringing back
to living memory forgotten or overlooked
Peking customs, stories and beliefs.
The text touches on everything under the sun
as the reader walks from Tian An Men Square
through the surrounding neighborhoods and
further to sights in rustic settings. The
narrative relates stories about imperial
customs, street food, temple festivals, historic
trees, Red Guard struggle sessions, Tibetan
and Mongolian customs, hiking trails,
political clashes, residences of famous
Chinese and foreigners, ghosts, prisons,
classical Chinese poetry, ice-skating,
espionage, burial customs, old and new
embassy districts, courtesans, restaurants and
(even) Chinese liquor. Interspersed
throughout the book are stories told by such
diverse sources as Marco Polo and Bernard
Shaw as well as 20th century Sinophiles like
Juliet Bredon, George Kates and David Kidd.
Commentary from Ming and Qing era travel
guides are brought out for a Chinese
perspective on celebrated locations in the
city.