People-to-people

       The book, as Anami admits, is not intended to be either a guide or a comprehensive presentation of historical facts. In addition to writing about her encounters with trees, stone and water, she has also emphasized her encounters with people from all walks of life.

       Her search through the streets and hills of the city for old temple remains also led her to people. "The hospitality and resiliency of local people ... is one of the very satisfying parts of these adventures," she said. Sometimes residents would leave what they were doing and spend the whole day walking around with her.

       Some of these stories are put under the heading "Unforgettable People," as these short essays go beyond the focus of a particular tree, stone or body of water. "They are part of the city's collective history," she said.

       She even met many legendary historic figures, whose names are eternally recorded in the country's history. In the area west of the Drum Tower in central Beijing, the narrow alleys haven't changed for several centuries. On one morning in early December, 1996, walking along one of these alleys in search of places noted on her historical map, she said she was lucky enough to meet Liu Jingquan, the former chef for the last emperor Puyi. Liu told her the story of how his family had been chefs for the imperial family for four generations.

        Another time at Guanghua Temple (Temple of Great Transformation), she met the temple's senior abbot, the Venerable Xiuming. When they met, the abbot was 91, still spry, and able to greet visitors in French, English and Japanese.

       As a young man from a wealthy Beijing family, he had travelled to France, and studied in Lyon with a group of Chinese students. Xiuming told Anami that Premier Zhou Enlai was part of that group, as was Marshal Chen Yi.

       On the same day she also met China's last imperial palace eunuch, the late Sun Yaoting, sitting solemnly in the corner of a room, wearing a brown leather jacket and black-padded pants. "Beijing's narrow hutong probably hide a legend behind every door," she said.

       And her timing was right. Aged people were still around who could remember the earlier layout of various sites and could relate what they had lived through in the more than 50 years since 1949 when New China was founded.