There is something particularly special about the old Hutong (courtyard) areas of Beijing for me. It is partly to do with the grey-brown colour palette, but there is also (and I’m sorry if this sounds a little cliché) a very powerful echo of an older, slower time. Places like this will dwindle and eventually all that will remain is a few isolated amusement theme streets for clueless tourists. I think this is immensely sad.