French in Old Peking 
For many expats, everything about China is foreign, but for other who really embrace the culture, it becomes home for them every quickly. And that鈥檚 what happened with Fred Muller, he is a Frenchman who moved to Beijing a year ago. And this is his home.
Doesn鈥檛 look like he is home, but I bet we can find him on the streets chatting with some friends.
After living in a High-rise for several months, not knowing anyone besides the guard, Fred needed a change. He really wanted to feel like he was living in real China, where he can have Chinese friends, enjoy Chinese food, and have a Chinese home.
This is Fred鈥檚 Chinese home. He say鈥檚 it鈥檚 the smallest place he鈥檚 ever lived, but also the nicest.
Fred is proud to declare that most of his friends in China are Chinese. But it was hard for them to get to know each other at first.
Si he Yuan, or the quadrate courtyard, is the typical structure for Chinese, especially Beijing houses. Behind the walls, four rooms enclosed a yard and the life of a family. It could be as large and ornate as this, or as small but cozy as this. According to the principles of Fengshui, most of them are facing south. Some even have several yards strung together, enough to hold several generations of a household.
Fred definitely can鈥檛 find his root in a Chinese Si He Yuan. But he can still appreciate its beauty..
Morning glories, dusk light, leaves turning green and ripening fruits 鈥 Si he Yuan has a small nature inside, which was the perfect setting to support the Chinese philosophy that people and nature should come merge.
They鈥檙e such a beautiful places. So, why are so many of them were left in ruins as dim reflections of their past glory? Why didn鈥檛 Chinese cherish their own homes?
This sketch depicts this huge Si He Yuan belonging to a professor. Visitors can hardly match the image with what they see here.
The owner tells a long story of how one home became 10.
But where did all those people come from?
