Walking into Sun Changqing's courtyard home, which is nestled in a long and deep hutong near Jingshan Park, is like walking into the history of Qing Dynasty and stepping out of the modern world that is filled with skyscrapers.

With the exact layout and structure of a traditional courtyard, the house is now home to Sun's mother, Yu Baozhen, while Sun, a 62-year-old retired architect, visits every week with his wife and son.

The walls of the backyard - the remains of the imperial city wall of the Ming Dynasty - date back more than 500 years.

And the sister of Pu Yi, the last emperor of Qing Dynasty, used to live next door, Sun said.

"Renovations using modern materials would damage this antique building," said Sun. "The best way to protect it is to keep its original look."

Four generations of the Suns have now lived in the home, which was probably built during Qing Dynasty.

The first of the family to move in was Sun's grandfather, who bought the house in 1946.

Sun believes the property first belonged to a palace eunuch who would have served the royal household in Qing Dynasty and who would have spent his whole life saving enough money to buy a home close to the imperial city for his retirement.

"The eunuchs and ordinary families were not allowed to live in the inner city where the courtyards were built for the nobles," he said.

Located behind the Forbidden City, the house is only 15 minutes' walk to Jingshan Park, where Sun's mother likes to walk every day.

Eighty-eight-year-old Yu, who has lived in the neighborhood for almost all her life, said she will never leave for another home.

"The modern flats are like a prison," she said.

She moved to the city at 25 and has been in the courtyard ever since.

"I've become too used to everything in this neighborhood," she said. "In the park, people all know me. Every day, we hang out doing exercises together. If I moved into an apartment, I wouldn't know how to live without a friend."

For Sun, one of the things about the home he is most proud of is the gate. It is painted with vermilion and still looks very elegant and graceful, even though it has faded a little down the years.

"The gate was designed to have a specific direction," he said. "Others can't see directly inside."

Sun added that the architecture of Beijing's courtyards pay a lot of attention to the rules of Fengshui.

Explaining the layout of the house, Sun said it was constructed according to the traditional concepts of the five elements that were believed to compose the universe, and the eight diagrams of divination.

The courtyard consists of four houses with one in the front yard and three in the backyard. Yu Baozhen, the oldest person in the family, lives in the main room in the north, facing south.

The front yard has been rented to Kevin Callaghan, a student from the US taking EMBA courses at Tsinghua University. He has been a resident in the city for a year and half.

The highlight of the house is the backyard building which is on the north side and faces south and is higher than the ones to the left and right.

In the center of the yard, a pavilion is surrounded with undergrowth, including begonia and magnolia, which are also auspicious symbols of abundance and wealth for the household.

"In summer, we all get together in the yard and talk and drink tea," Sun said. "It is a very pleasant time."

Though now living in a downtown apartment, Sun and his wife return to the courtyard every week to visit his mother and get together with the whole family.

He said the home is so full of memories he could not imagine selling it.