Beijing Then and Now: Anthony Tao

For our October Issue, we invited local personalities to recreate photographs that inspired fond memories. Here are the stories behind those snapshots and those Beijingers, in their own words.

Anthony Tao, Tiananmen Gate, 1996

Anthony Tao, Tiananmen Gate, 2011

THEN

What year was it? 1996 (I think ... outside chance it was '98, but I look 12 and not 14 in the photo).

Where's the original location? Tian'anmen.

Who is in the photo? Me.

What were you doing there? My family lived (and still does) not too far away, at Xihuangchenggeng South St., so I was probably just "in the neighborhood."

What were you doing in Beijing? Although I started living in the States when I was five-and-a-half and had, at the time of the photo, spent more time in the U.S. than in Beijing, most of my family was still here. As a result, I'd visit every couple of years. If indeed it was 1996, it would've been my second time in Beijing -- thus the sightseeing at Tian'anmen, perhaps.

NOW

Who is in the photo? Still me.

What are you now doing in Beijing? At work: editing and writing.

What has changed for you? Completed puberty. Survived assorted mortifications of adolescence. Advanced through various levels of institutionalized education. Grew up.

What has changed in the city? If you can believe it, there was hardly any traffic back then. It was wondrous. Every two years I'd come back to visit though, and I'd notice the traffic would be a little worse. And a little worse. And worse. It's hard for me to say whether the soul of the city has changed, since I was viewing it through the eyes of a child back then, but I do still consider Beijing home, in many ways. Oh, in '96, there definitely were not /three /luxury malls around Dongzhimen.

Click here to see the October issue of the Beijinger in full.