With "Beijing," Kloubert concludes his China trilogy after "Peitaiho" and "Yuanmingyuan." In sharp contrast to the reality of the 21st century with its skyscrapers and highways, the narrator takes us to the old imperial city with its walls and gates, towers and palaces, gardens, courtyards, houses and streets, as well as its restaurants, pubs, shops and brothels, to its inhabitants and their rituals.