Transformation of capital changes lives on two levels

All major cities are composed of complex ecosystems of human existence. Layers of life and survival, hope and sadness, and intertwined social strata mix and mingle in unexpected ways.

Beijing is no different. However, here such undercurrents of life that thrive beneath the glitzy, modern veneer that many say is all too quickly overtaking the city are harder to find. But they are there.

"When you arrive in Beijing, there are two layers of identifiable structure," said Xing Ruan, author of New China Architecture, in New Beijing - Reinventing a City, a documentary about the rapid redevelopment the capital has witnessed in recent years.