When I asked why, she explained that sunlight and prevailing winds, especially cold Siberian gusts, had compelled the Chinese as far back as the Zhou Dynasty (c. 1100-221 B.C.) to build their homes on a north-south axis. Later, during the Tang (618-907) and Ming (1368-1644) dynasties, doorways to the east and west would lead into beautiful gardens, but everything was always fully enclosed by buildings and walls with the front gate as the only opening.

"The high windowless walls provided privacy and protection but more importantly they're cultural," He said. "We make a big distinction between the ‘inner' and the ‘outer' in our lives and relationships. Places on the inside, people you're in close relationships with, they're important, protected and cherished and not for public view. Foreigners complain that we create dangerous bottlenecks; we see it as safety."

Family hierarchy also mimicked the layout of courtyards. Rear buildings were designated for the most senior family members, because they were considered the most private spaces. They had more warm sunlight as well. Families tried to optimize the benefits and minimize risks from their natural environment by using fengshui as well as walls when building house and garden compounds. This ancient geomancy practice coordinates human interactions with living spaces and the environment by strategically placing charms, rocks, water and symbols to alter energy flows auspiciously.

"Screens were placed to divert evil spirits, because Chinese folk belief states that bad spirits can move only in a straight line," He said. "One of the most important spaces in Chinese homes was reserved for family ancestors. Our homes welcomed the dead as well as the living, unlike Western people. Rich or poor, traditional homes devoted a space to family ancestors. My parents have a small shrine; rich people may still build a hallway for ancestors."

"So what do you think about all the modern buildings going up everywhere in Beijing?" I asked her curiously.

She shrugged and looked pensive. "I cannot feel anything but proud of how far my country has come," He said. "Yet I yearn to keep our cultural heritage too. Living in a small apartment separated from my extended family is tough. I feel like I'm losing something important. At the same time, I'm a modern woman. Every time I visit a courtyard home, I'm amazed at the simplicity, practicality, efficiency and elegance.

"Chinese courtyards, like Chinese operas, remind me of how different we are from Western people. Our aesthetic is more pragmatic and complex. Just as Chinese operas incorporate many arts-music, classic literature, singing, dancing, painting and acrobatics-Chinese courtyards also integrate relationships, families, landscaping and Oriental mysticism, including fengshui and the I Ching. We must preserve this."

The writer is an American living and working in China.