Travel through time in the heart of Beijing

Explore the Temple of Heaven after dark. Illuminated at night, the altars are enhanced by an almost otherworldly beauty. Using a handheld projector we will display the history of the Temple, charting its path from a closed off Imperial altar ground to the beating heart of the city that it is today.

“A Crash Course to the Forbidden City” is a humble attempt to unlock the meaning behind the chambers of the Palace. In a condensed and hopefully entertaining way, we wish to give you a comprehensive history of the palace from when it was built 600 years ago until when the last boy-emperor finally left in 1924.

When you arrive in Beijing you soon get the idea that the narrow Hutong alleyways contain the very soul of China’s capital. But who built these charming maze-like neighbourhoods?

Hear the incredible story of the summer of 1900, when 4,000 foreigners and Chinese lived under siege from radical mystic rebels for 55 days. Follow us into the old Legation Quarter to hear stories about the bombing of the French embassy, the wavering Qing Court and how 200,000 bullets flew into the sky without finding a single target.

Setting out we will pass pieces of architecture all belonging to one 12 different visions of the city that has existed over the last hundred years. Walking only a couple of kilometers in to the narrow Hutong alleyways we will be able to find traces of the Early Republic, the Cultural Revolution, the Great Leap Forward and much, much more.

“Layers of Beijing” creates a portrait of the time from 1949 to the present day, with an emphasis on the dramatic changes of the 1950s. Based upon interviews and archival research we have made a portrait of Beijing from the perspective of those who have lived through the immense changes.

During this walk we will track down the life of Beijing’s most famous prostitute - Saijinhua, and create a portrait of Dashilar, the more than 600 year old commercial district of Beijing, and Ba Da Hutong - the old red light district. The Walk ends with an exhibition of related pictures from Beijing Postcards collection.

The story of commerce in the capital told through the products that shaped its people and their lives

“Drama Kings” traces the history of Beijing Opera and explains how performers at the bottom of society during the dynasties became kings of entertainment during the republic, just to abruptly lose their status during the 1960s.

Make a journey to the west and see the Summer Palace through the eyes of the Monkey King. We tell stories about the Monkey King along the long corridor, and use the rest of the enormous complex to explore the ideas behind Chinese thinking.

During this walk we will explore how the Tiananmen became what it is today. Through Beijing Postcards collection of historical photographs, we will show how Tiananmen detached itself from the imperial complex and went from being a mere gate to a Communist shrine.

In the late 1970s the world known architect I.M Pei climbed the stairs of the Coal Hill together with a delegation of colleagues. Standing on top of the hill the future designer of the glass pyramids at louvre felt deeply moved.

When night fell upon the city of Beijing during the Qing dynasty, a curfew was imposed. The massive gates in the city wall would be shut and the banner-watchmen would patrol the streets. During the walk we will use a portable projector to project pictures outside help making the Qing dynasty capital come alive once more.

This walk takes place in the old Beijing neighborhood Dashilar. A place that traditionally was the “melting pot” of Beijing society. Dashilar was the center of development as new modern storefronts, newspaper houses, brothels and

This walk-and-talk is a comprehensive look at economy and power within the Imperial Palace. We are looking for the management principles of the great within, and through the history of the Palace we seek to uncover the Chinese ideas of power and leadership.

Puyi’s departure from the Forbidden City marked the end of the strange 13 years where both Dynasty and Republic co-existed within the confines of the imperial compound.

Beijing Arrivals is a combined Walk and Talk. We will start out in our hutong gallery with a brief introduction to Dashilar, then we will explore the different districts of the neighborhood and visit a couple of families that we have worked with in our ongoing Oral history project.

“The Great Escape” is a portrait of the last Emperors time in Tianjin. We follow the boy emperors struggle trying to come to terms with a new reality. We have no claim on the imperial throne, but we have discovered that Tianjin is an amazing unpolished gem that is more than worth exploring.