Looking at Beijing within the framework of trees, stone and water is a way of appreciating the city's heritage, based on a sPecial relationship of man and nature. In the process of exploring Beijing's ancient ruins, what I often found as markers of the past were a well or spring, a couple of gnarled pines and sometimes a stele or an abandoned stone cave. They took on the mantle of the sites' history.

It was these three aspects of nature that held Beijing's past. They helped me define and respond to the sites I was searching for. Often they maintained the atmosphere of these places, long after rituals there ceased. They also helped me remember one place from another and gave me their energy. Moreover, they led me to the people of Beijing, who readily shared their knowledge and stories.