Blue-eyed Beijinger gets misty over hutong dust

Hua Xinmin, a 56-year-old woman who is half French, sees Jinbaojie, a street to the north of Chang'an Avenue's Dongdan, a little differently to the way the hoards of white-collar workers and tourists who flock to it today see the trendy street.

The emerging chic and luxurious hub boasts a raft of "4S stores" selling the most expensive sport cars, high-end five-star hotels, and top shopping malls.

To Hua, the area was a beautiful, tranquil, Yuan Dynasty hutong where she was born and raised before it was bulldozed and transformed into what it is today.