Chronicling urban transformation

A Belgian business strategist who came to Beijing more than three decades ago has found time to maintain a photographic record of the changes in the Chinese capital. Liu Xiangrui reports..

As one of the earliest foreign businesspeople to venture into China after its opening-up, 68-year-old Belgian business strategist Gilbert van Kerckhove has not only witnessed, but also played an important part in, the country's tremendous transformation over the years.

Originally from Ghent in Belgium, where he got a master's degree in electronic engineering in 1973, Van Kerckhove has spent a big part of his life working for multinationals in foreign countries, including Brazil, Nigeria, Spain, Thailand and Myanmar.