Constant battle with wrecking ball

Zhang Jinqi lives in an old hutong neighborhood simply because he wants to. He says he has to take part in the vanishing traditional lifestyle and experience its rapidly fading heritage before its too late.

Zhang is devoted to saving the traditional homes and other cultural artifacts - a battle against demolition crews, developers and local authorities who make efforts to modernize the city.

"The protection of cultural relics is closely associated with the lives of average people," said Zhang. "It is also what China is proud of. Problems will arise if people don't pay respect to their traditions."