On a dry and hot Saturday in June, the kind of day most locals stay at home to avoid the oppressive heat, a crowd of more than 100 people packed One Way Street, a small Beijing bookstore.

"They are coming," somebody said and the crowd stirred in excitement.

They - He Weifang and Zhang Yihe - two prominent Chinese intellectuals, soon arrived and began promoting their new book, Piano Duet, a collection of essays.

Most of the essays included in Piano Duet discuss the authors' travelling experiences in places such as Xinjiang and have generated positive reviews in the Beijing media.

He, a 50-year-old Peking University law professor and persistent advocate for China's judicial and legal reforms, said he was initially unsure about the collaboration.

"Zhang is a highly respected writer and I was slightly daunted by the idea (of writing with her)," he said.

Born in 1942, Zhang is the daughter of politician Zhang Bojun. She specializes in Chinese traditional theater and started writing in 2001 after her retirement. She has published two personal memoirs discussing traditional theater performers and artists.

The book was "an unexpected gain," said Zhang. "I didn't know that a trip to Xinjiang could be so inspirational."

Both Zhang and He's musings are deeper than travelogues but more reserved than most social commentary.

Zhang, who has long been an unsuccessful advocate for aesthetics classes in public schools, believes that years of restrictive, ideological education have ruined students' sense of aesthetics and their basic skills of speech and expression.

"Our forms of expression have been reduced to formulas. When young people really wish to express an emotion sincerely, all they can say is, 'That's so cool,'" she said.

Zhang also said He's background as a law professor is a good match for hers as a writer because both law and literature require the ability to express ideas coherently and logically - something that the Chinese education system should emphasize more.

The crowd at the bookstore asked Zhang and He plenty of questions about their social and personal ideals and how to reconcile this idealism with reality.

Zhang answered that people must secure financial stability before attempting to realize their ideals.

"I never tell young people to 'sacrifice for art' and forget everything else. It's simply inconceivable - you will give in to the system and become corrupted if you can't support yourself," she said.

Although He said China's judicial reform was not as fast as he had expected, he continues to remain optimistic,

and calls for an end to interrogation by torture, an improved system for appealing administrative decisions and a lively National People's Congress, which will feature vigorous debate between deputies.

But he also said such issues are related to choices.

"We need to guarantee that everyone expresses his or her opinion in the National People's Congress, even if it leads to disagreements," said He.

"Social changes take a long time. Start by changing yourself."

Similarly, Zhang said people should never wait for the environment to improve in order to improve themselves.