“During the Qing Dynasty （1644 -1911 ）， gates were ranked. Thecommon people could not use the Broadview Gate; it was exclusivelyfor mansions constructed for officials and royal families. Howeverwealthy you were， you could not enter the gate. Ordinary intellectualswere allowed to use the Fortune Gate for their mansions. Certainly， his thinking does not stop at the gate. “Having comethrough the gate， you have to turn a corner instead of going straight，for there is a screen wall in front of you; while， in the Western stylebuilding， a staircase behind the door leads to the owner’s bedroomdirectly. In the Western style house， you can walk straight since thereis no bend; while in the courtyard house， you can’t： you may need totake several turns in order to go into the owner’s bedroom. He goes on to say that in a courtyard house， there is a dooryard，backyard， and sometimes multiple yards， and that this is quite similarto entering the Chinese market： you have to take turns instead of steppinginto it directly.
His ability to think divergently is often quite amazing. Laurence’
s viewpoints are the reason he can write thesis upon thesis with suchprolificity.
After moving out from Shijia Hutong， he bought three courtyardhouses located in three hutongs in Dongcheng District， adjacentto each other. He invited the construction teams responsible for therepairing and maintaining of the Forbidden City and the Summer Palace，to recreate the original architecture of these dilapidated courtyardhouses. By marrying the classic exterior with temperature control andthe modern kitchen and toilet inside， he has realized his dream conceptof blending the old and the new.
Laurence enjoys the elegance and grace of these houses， especiallyon dark， silent nights.
“In such silence， I feel much more relaxed，” he says. “And I canthink about things more clearly in such a state. I usually write some33thing at night， instead of going to bed. It was in the courtyard house that he wrote the influential book，China As No. 1： The New Superpower Takes Centre Stage， which predictedas early as in 1996 that China would grow into an economicpowerhouse. In 1997， there was great international debate aboutwhether Hong Kong would continue its capitalistic ways after rejoiningthe mainland. Consequently he wrote the book Red Capital， pointingout that the future of Hong Kong should depend on the red capital.
The book created a great stir at the time.
Zhou Nan， the Director of Xinhua News Agency， Hong KongBranch， even gave him a nickname： New Red Capital. Laurance acceptedit willingly： not only did he pose as New Red Capital butnamed his hotel and restaurant Red Capital Residence.
The courtyard houses of Beijing proved conducive to muchthought and creativity. His books， such as Negotiation in China 3Strategies， Sun Tzu’s Art of Negotiating in China， Zhongnanhai， ZhuRongji and the Transformation of Modern China， are still quite popular.
In March 2001， he compiled China’s Century： The Awakeningof the Next Economic Powerhouse， which was prefaced by PremierZhu Rongji and included the study of the development of the Chineseeconomy according to eight Chinese ministers， as well as several presidentsand CEOs in the World Fortune 500.
“When this book was published， some Westerners criticized me;they said I was pro-China， pro-communism，” he says. “But the oneswho had lived in China for some time， or those who had been here frequently，agreed with me. Many foreigners who did business in Chinawere willing to buy my books. Consequently I was interviewed byoverseas media.
“Those who were practical and realistic believed that if someonewanted to know about China， he could not always trust The WashingtonPost which usually vilified China. The book was quite a success in Western countries. “The fact has been proven that present-day China is the safestplace for business investment and finance regulation，” he adds. “Severalevents I predicted in the book have taken place. Knowing that several of his friends admired his houses， he turnedone into an inn and another into a restaurant. The third one is the headquartersof Nan Long Asia-Pacific Investment Co. Ltd.， and his ownresidence. His company owns seven restaurants， three of which are inChina： one in Beijing， another at the foot of the Great Wall， and thethird in Bajiao Street， Lhasa.
His hotel and restaurant are filled with artifacts — some of whicheven came from Zhongnanhai. Old style telephones from the Mao Tsetungera， ancient furniture， pictures， handicraft， are all displayed togreat effect， creating a time warp of sorts.
A Hongqi （Red Flag） car is always parked outside the restaurant.
Upon first glance， one would think it belonged to a central governmentleader from the Mao era. Sitting at the table， drinking Red Capitalwine， smoking Red Capitalcigar， one feels as ifone has entered a fourdimensionalspace wheretime has been condensed.
The delicious food andwine， together with theambience， creates a specialflavor. Although Laurencehas never advertisedhis restaurant， his restaurantenjoys a great fame;many for e igne r s andChinese are attracted to itthanks to public praise. It336 is said that Red Capital is among the five most popular bars in Beijing.
The inn is also an exquisite yard， with carved beams and paintedrafters. There is an artificial hill in the middle of the yard. Under thehill lies a hidden cavity， left from the time when Mao called upon peopleto dig deep holes and store their foodstuff. Laurence transformedit into an underground bar， which still retains its original coarse andunpolished style， and is reminiscent of the old film Tunnel Warfare.
Spending a night at this inn， drinking， chatting with friends， watchingprojector films， would seem the perfect way to relax and unwind， evenpreferable to five-star luxury.