Letters

Little boxes... look just the same

Before visiting China for the first time in 2007, I had read about historic neighborhoods in Beijing being torn down to build hotels and other facilities for the 2008 Olympic Games, and saw the sordid sights everywhere during my stay in the city.

In fact, the lovely old hotel I was staying at stood next to a construction site where a new hotel was coming up and, expectedly, every morning I woke up to the deafening sound of jackhammers.