Entrance to Beijing home

Beijing, October 2014.

Hutong neighbors

Beijing, October 2014.

Entrance to a $5 million property in Beijing's hutongs

Beijing, September 2014.

Three impressions of living in the hutongs

Beijing, October 2014.

Drunk

Pee in the pants (see the guy in front) I had seen before but that one of these guys spit onto the table was a new experience. Note that this picture was taken in one of the best restaurants on Guijie.

Beijing, October 2014.

This is what happens when crate boxes stand too long in the hutong

Beijing, October 2014.

Leaving the courtyard house

Bye bye neighbors.

236 boxes on their way to the truck parked on the next 

big road some 15min rolling away.

Beijing, 18 October 2014.

Kind of last supper

Beijing, 18 October 2014.

On the move but Jörn's wedding shoes and Pascale's hat will stay in Beijing

Beijing, October 2014.

Dogduck

Beijing, October 2014.

Zhang Enli's "last supper" on the move

Beijing, December 2013.

Rainy day in Beijing

Beijing, August 2014.

Summer in our hutong

Beijing, August 2014.

no tow away policy in Beijing?

Beijing, June 2014.

Mahjong space

Beijing, June 2014.

Gulou demolishing

Most hutong houses are slum houses lacking toilets and showers. Demolishing such houses is not necessarily a bad thing but when seeing how China plans it's Chinese Disney World then every destructed house is worrisome.

Gulou District (Bell and Drum Tower), Beijing, July 2014.

Hutong chic

Coming out of the shadows.

Beijing, December 2013.

Face it, beauty

Beijing, September 2013.

How to devalue a $3.2 million property?

It all happened in two days 

while the property from where the pictures were taken 

was built in one year.

Building the slum house took only a few hours. 

Spot the nice window below.

 Negotiations started: the window got closed.

 More beautification, negotiations ongoing.

Negotiations failed: Phase 2 begins.

It is still not clear what phase 2 means: 

Space for water tanks, flat-plate solar collector, 

or simply 2 new rooms to be rented out? 

Negotiations resumed: 

The 2nd floor construction is getting some paint.

The view since more than one month: 

Negotiations ongoing but ...

Now ask about building standards, hutong policies, and the rule of law.

In sum, time to leave.

Beijing, May 2013.