Updated: 2007-05-30 09:33

Feeling an urgency to maintain the traditions that have resided in those old lanes and courtyards for hundreds of years, Zhang quit his job as a copy editor in 2000 and devoted himself entirely to recording the disappearing old Beijing with his camera.

And he is not alone. Many volunteers, people from all walks of life including some photographers, are attracted by the fascinating tales of hutongs and have joined the team.

The team has made a long-term plan, listing hundreds of hutongs to be shot. They meet via their Internet web group (http://www.obj.org.cn/article), and explore the lanes with their cameras on Sundays in a race against time to preserve a piece of fading history.

Most of the hutongs in Beijing were built in the Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties (1271-1911). According to official statistics, the number of registered hutongs in Beijing has fallen from 3,600 in 1980 to about 1,200 today. And the number is still shrinking.

Currently the team has collected more than 100,000 pictures and 40 million words in documentary materials, and plans to build an online hutong museum.

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