The yard gate is a standard Broadview Gate. Four extrusivepillars stand atop the gate tower， resembling the hair clasp worn byancient people — and so the name， “gate clasp.” Laurence says thathe once saw gate clasps in Shijia Hutong dating back to the MingDynasty （136 8-1644 ）。 He was so taken by the clasps that he invitedcraftsmen to make copies. Although these copies were crudely made（since the workmanship required had been lost）， Laurence managed torescue the four wooden pillars in the nick of time when the courtyardwas being demolished.
“If we hadn’t rushed there that night， these gate clasps （now fixedon his own gate） would have been thrown away as rubbish，” he says.
Having lived in China for more than 20 years， Laurence is familiarwith its large-scale development projects， especially those inBeijing， famed as the “biggest construction site in the world”。 Whatdistresses him， however， is the random demolition of buildings， inparticular， the razing of courtyard houses and hutongs. If the price ofdevelopment is the destruction of culture， he says， it’s not worth it.
He reiterates this sentiment often. “A number of courtyard houseshave been pulled down in Beijing， akin to cutting the wrists of culture.
I don’t understand what kind of Chinese culture these high buildingsrepresent.
“As for constructing glass buildings with cement and steel， Chinawill never surpass Los Angeles or Chicago. Even if you could， youstill need to think about whether it is necessary. Why do you want tocompete with others in terms of constructing high buildings? Why notbring your cultural advantage into play? Actually， if you can preservethe things which embody your culture， no foreign country can be comparedto you. That is your own culture， and it is of crucial importance.
You need to consider the next generation. They cannot know aboutChinese culture without these culture carriers. He continues in the same rueful vein， “The British magazine， TheEconomist， once published a paper about the pulling down of courtyardhouses and hutongs in Beijing. It said that if the next generationwanted to know about the culture of Beijing， they would have to go tothe museums and libraries in Taiwan， because the natives of Beijingwould have already ruined their own culture. “World famous cities like Paris and London go to great lengthsto protect their own culture. The French and the Italians are proud oftheir ancient edifices. However， in Beijing， several old buildings aregoing to be pulled down！ That’s crazy！ To protect courtyard houses， and publicly make his resentmentfelt， Laurence began to write articles， participate in televised debates，and visit the relevant government departments. His actions have beensupported by many men of insight.
“Several foreigners come to China with the objective of savoringancient Chinese culture，” he says. “If they live in five-star hotels， thereis no difference between staying here and living in Paris or New York：all five-star hotels are the same. They gain nothing from their trip toChina.
“Isn’t it a waste of our cultural resources? Beijing should try topreserve its courtyard houses to show its confidence in its own culture. Laurence lives happily in his courtyard house， with his Chinesewife and two kids. The district they live in belongs to the 25 Historical33 8 Cultural Protective Districts， so they do not need to fear its demolition.
His opinions， evidently， have had some impact. It is now fashionablefor foreigners to live in courtyard houses， and possessing such a househas become a status symbol for the Chinese as well.
Media giant Rupert Murdoch and his wife Deng Wendi also reportedlyintend to buy a courtyard house in Beijing. It is quite possiblethat Laurence will bump into the Murdochs one day while strollingdown a hutong.
The Pursuer of Shangri-LaThe Chinese call the age of 40 “the year without perplexity”。 Butwhen Laurence hit 40， he was nothing if not perplexed.
“With its gradual economic reform and WTO status， China hasbecome much internationalized，” he says. “I personally haven’t madeany breakthrough in my career，except for earning some moneyvia investment consultation.
But I find that I have lost somethingin my spiritual world，compared with my materialpossessions. I therefore want tospend my time pursuing spirituality. Laurence believes that theAmericanization and commercializationof China are causedby global economic integration.
He calls such a phenomenon “oxidizing.” “Oxidizing” expresses hisqualms at a deep level， quite different from the poignancy indicated by“cutting wrists”。 As materialism mushrooms all over the world， everygeneration needs to think about how to keep the vigor and uniquenessof their own culture intact， and how to avoid being “oxidized”。
The quest for the spiritual world set Laurence on his journey toShangri-La.
In 1993， James Hilton published the novel Lost Horizon， in whichhe described a mysterious， beautiful earthly paradise called ShangriLa. For years， adventurers， poets， dreamers sought to discover whetherthis was a figment of his imagination or a real paradise.
Laurence was also curious about the truth behind this culturalmyth. He traveled through several provinces and autonomous regionson the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau — Tibet， Qinghai Province， and YunnanProvince. He visited all kinds of people， artists， dancers， musicians，fashion designers， writers， pop singers， rock bands， environmental protectors，lamas engaged as assistants， the Living Buddha， herdsmen andso on.
He recorded these people’s understandings about Shangri-La; healso recorded what he had seen， heard， and pondered about on the journey.