This book is a wonderful collection of original drawings and writings about Beijing during the past 60 years. The author is a typical senior who grew up in a big family in a traditional courtyard house (a siheyuan in mandarin). As an ordinary citizen he carefully observed and recorded the life and customs around him, and vividly describes his childhood family life, schooling, love, marriage and work. The pictures reveal the changes in customs, attitudes, and historical figures as well as capture the changes in scenery and architecture in Beijing since the founding of the People’s Republic of China in 1949