"Xu Wei is the Chaoyang Cultural Palace, and the palace is Xu Wei."

This is how Li Xuefeng, a veteran photographer, usually introduces Xu Wei. He considers it the only proper way to describe Xu, 42, the director of the Chaoyang Cultural Palace.

"I devote all my time and energy to running this place,"

Xu said. It seems I have no spare time at all."

Located 1.5 kilometers east of Hujialou, Dongsanhuan Lu, the Chaoyang Cultural Palace is one of the ten best cultural palaces in the country. In Beijing, it is well-known for its variety of popular activities and for its strong revenue stream.

Xu joined the cultural palace 22 years ago after graduating from the Beijing Teacher? College (today Capital Normal University) where he studied the piano,choreography and wrote poems.

Xu began working at the Chaoyang Cultural Palace as a music tutor for the general public (lao bai xing).

Since the 1980s one of the main responsibilities of the cultural palace has been to popularize the arts among the lao bai xing, therefore, Xu often visited schools, factories and Chaoyang District countryside to offer practical guidance to choirs, piano players and dance groups. He toiled steadily and was named director of the center four years ago.

"I put all my time in this place. My home? I regard it as a place to sleep. My life is here," Xu said. His pace is so frentic he can often be observed munching on a Big Mac hamburger from McDonald Restaurant while rushing to his office. His wife Zhu Junlan works with him serving as the palace publicity officer.

Every room, each square meter, even the open grounds outside the palace are utilized by Xu to provide activities for local people. The center more than 30 kinds of training courses for children attract people even from outside Chaoyang. The center dance room is usually occupied from the afternoon until late at night each day. The conference room is used to hold district

government meetings. The palace also has a gallery, a cinema, a gym, a beer garden and a photo processing service.

Still, Xu is not satisfied. He has his eyes set on the foreign tourist market.

Through research he has discoverd there is not a single Peking Opera theater in East Beijing, and he has decided to stage Peking Opera shows for tourists steered his way by travel agencies under a cooperative agreement. He has designed five kinds of backdrops for different styles of operas. An art committee was set up to control the quality of actors from the Beijing Peking Opera Troupe and to chose productions.

But there are always difficulties in the beginning. Xu said on the worst day, only two tourists showed up, but the show must go on and did. Since its debut in March, the show has had a continuous run. Xu believes Peking Opera has a future and can be a big success.

"I'm ready to do anything I need to do to help Peking Opera survive. I've already prepared money for any losses; I am betting on it. I will do whatever it takes to get people to see it and understand it."

The antiques Xu has collected through the years and displayed at the palace are highly appreciated by overseas visitors. These include an ancient Chinese bridal sedan chair and a donkey cart which are displayed in the lobby of the palace building. Antique cupboards, cabinets and tables are featured in the mini Peking Opera theater as a decoration. On the first floor, on the way to the main Peking Opera theater, he displays a collection of ancient

Chinese household devices including spinning wheels, lamps, a barber? load, a washbasin and stand. He has spent many weekends scouring Beijing antiques markets at the Panjiayuan, Shibalidian and Tongzhou.

Xu thinks the cultural palace should also serve as a kind of   museum. Even artists find inspiration in the collection.

"I never expected such a small gallery to have such unique doors and wooden screens," said painter Ye Xue after his visit this year. He has become an ardent advocate of the small gallery.

"I just like everything old and traditional," Xu Wei said.

Xu grew up in the Tur Hutong near Jiaodaokou, which gifted him with fond memories of childhood and traditional life. He ran down zigzagging paths of a courtyard, played on roofs with his little friends and marvelled at the stone mendun at the gate. He loved the hutong's vendors and reveled in the intimate relations between neighbors. During the Cultural Revolution (1966-76), he was a child and engaged in innocent child play, something he regards as a lucky thing for his particular generation.

"For children, especially students, this was a good thing. My attitude about life was shaped out of that period. I can adapt myself well to society. I always find ways to enjoy myself. I don't have high expectations, but if I decide to do something, I do it 100 percent,* said Xu.

Chaoyang Cultural Palace

Add: Xiaozhuang, Chaoyangmenwai (east of Hujialou)