how to ensure that no cars park there?

Leave an old bike and an office chair at the given space, lock them up and place chairs and tables next to them and the restaurant is open for customers.

Beijing, July 2014.

Datong and building a new old city

 Building a new ancient city wall

 Tearing down the recent past

Creating the new past

 

New ancient dream town, locals, and foreign guests.  

Datong, Shanxi, April 2014.

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.

Beijing's slum spills over

 It started on May 6 and was finished on the same day.

Finally the slum house got its large window closed 

indicating that the second phase of the negotiation process has begun.

BTW, Chinese usually refer to foreign countries when using 贫民窟 (holes for the poor).

Beijing, May 2014.

Tourist attraction: Fahai Temple

Great scenery around the world famous Fahai Temple (法海寺)

BTW, entrance to the temple is RMB 100 ($16).  

The temple was almost completely destroyed in the Cultural Revolution. 

Some fine murals from the Ming dynasty survived.  

田义墓, Moshikou, Shijingshan District, Beijing, March 2014.

Sex shop on the road

Moshikou (模式口) Saturday market

Moshikou, Shijingshan District, Beijing, March 2014.

Learning English while cycling

Beijing, August 2013.

A future tourist destination?

Somewhere in Western Shanxi, China, August 2013.

Isn't it easy to ruin a nice tourist site?

Qikouzhen (磧口鎮), Shanxi, August 2013.