Stretching south from the Drum and Bell Towers in the north all the way to Yongding Gate, this spine running through Beijing is steeped in the warm bustle of everyday life tucked into its hutongs.
On a morning in Zhonglou Bay Hutong, Mingsheng, a girl with aphasia, feeds carrots to the rabbits;
On an afternoon in Third Lane Hutong, Hao Xiaobei plays the piano, lost in the music;
At dusk beneath Zhengyang Gate, Li Dongmei stares into space with half a piece of chocolate in her mouth;
In the evening in Dongtangen Hutong, Shi Lei sneaks a cigarette and coughs until he chokes;
Late at night in Suoyi Hutong, Cai Nan bends over his books, cramming for final exams.
The threads of youth quietly entwine them, all in the prime of their lives.
Across three decades of reform, the turbulent fates of two generations from five households unfold.
In 2008, the Olympic flame lights up Beijing. Cai Nan puts on his doctoral cap, while Li Dongmei packs her bags and leaves for a distant land.
In 2015, the bid to have the Central Axis recognized as a World Heritage Site enters its third year. Cai Nan, who is in charge of the project, carries a faded group photo as he walks through every familiar hutong, only to discover that the friends from those years have long since scattered across the vast world.
On this Central Axis, which has witnessed 758 years of history and change, their stories bear the city’s mark and shine amid the tide of the times.
