Beijing - In 1949, China's ancient "northern capital" was surrounded by imposing brick and earth ramparts and guard towers. Rickshaws still plied the hutongs, the maze of alleyways that ran between traditional courtyard houses and tiny brick buildings added to the inside of the narrow streets.
Almost 60 years later, the ruling Communist Party has stamped its
authority on Beijing and built a new showpiece capital that partly reflects its own changing ideology.
Hundreds of thousands of people have moved over the past 20 years to allow the demolition of most of the hutongs, which have made way for vast new commercial and residential complexes and the green verges that will decorate the city during the Olympics.
Old Beijing suffered several previous assaults, notably the 1950s drive to build New China and the Cultural Revolution from 1966 to 1976.
It underwent a "city beautification" campaign similar to the pre- Olympic facelift to prepare for the 1999 celebration of the 50th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China.
The number of hutongs dropped from more than 3,000 in the early 1980s to about 500 in January 2007, the official People's Daily newspaper reported.
Facing a growing clamour from heritage enthusiasts to protect the remaining hutongs and architecturally valuable buildings, the government has designated 25 preservation areas, several of them close to well-known tourist districts.
Campaigners tried to preserve the famous Qianmen shopping area, which lies south of Tiananmen Square and underwent a rapid makeover for the Olympics.
The government protected some of the most ornate old buildings in Qianmen, but many small shopkeepers were driven out to allow the demolition of their premises and the construction of what some critics call a modern, theme-park-style commercial and tourist area.
"I think they will make it very fun," Matthew Hu, managing director of the Beijing Cultural Heritage Protection Centre, said of the Qianmen renovation.
"But at the same time it will be very plain, without the real depth of history," Hu told Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa.
A commercial housing project in the nearby Xianyukou district is likely to become "what we call a Disney-fied area", he said.
Evidence of settlements in Beijing dates back up to 5,000 years.
The city was invaded many times by semi-nomadic tribes from the north until Mongol armies under Kublai Khan, grandson of Genghis, occupied Beijing and established it as the capital of the Yuan dynasty in 1271.
The Ming dynasty overthrew the Mongols in 1368 and first used the name Beijing in 1421, and the city remained the Chinese capital throughout the subsequent Qing dynasty (1644-1911), losing its status only briefly during the Japanese invasion in World War II.
As China's modern capital has grown into a sprawling metropolis of some 15 million people, if its far-flung rural districts are included, some poorer families have left the city centre for the suburbs.
The new suburban residents generally have larger apartments with bathrooms but lack access to schools, hospitals, shops and even jobs.
Hu supports the government's broad policy to reduce Beijing's population density inside the Second Ring Road, which roughly follows the line of the old city walls.
"It's a matter of how you implement this policy," he said.
Many Beijingers were forcibly evicted after refusing to move because they were unhappy with compensation or alternative accommodation offered by developers and the government.
Some attempted lawsuits, staged protests and lobbied officials over the heavy-handed redevelopment, but few succeeded in winning more than token concessions.
Most of the buildings that have replaced the traditional districts are vast, identical-looking residential and commercial complexes consisting of multiple concrete, steel and glass towers.
Yet the government's desire for wholesale redevelopment and the lack of any legal constraints on it have allowed some huge and innovative architectural projects, not least the spectacular "Bird's Nest" Olympic stadium and the nearby "Water Cube" aquatics centre.
Close to Tiananmen Square lies the futuristic low dome of the National Theatre, designed by French architect Paul Andreu and reportedly incorporating the world's largest single arch, spanning 212 metres under the 6,475-ton dome.
The theatre complex, often known as The Egg, has three main halls, including a 2,400-seat opera house, a 2,000-seat concert hall and a 1,000-seat playhouse.
Karaoke bars, lively restaurants, stadiums hosting pop concerts and vast nightclubs all compete with the theatres in Beijing's diversifying social structure.
You can find wealthy businessmen relaxing in cigar bars or upmarket massage parlours into the early hours.
Outside on the street, migrant workers eat simple breakfasts of rice porridge and soy milk, while elderly Beijingers begin their morning qi gong breathing exercises.
