"My first trip to China was in 1999. I was studying art history, had a minor focus in Chinese and had got to the point where I could speak a little bit of language, so I wanted to go and try. So I came to study Mandarin in Beijing and Nanjing. There were only two subways lines and the opening of a third one was really a big deal. Traffic was already heavy. Bicycles had given way to cars, and it was the end of those mini-bus taxis, the famous mianbaoche. The only place you could get coffee was at the Starbucks in the Friendship Store, except perhaps for the cafe all Sculpting in Time opened at the West Gate of Peking University. You could meet lots of exciting people there," writes in the city guide, Philip Tinari, Director of UCCA Center for Contemporary Art, serves as the guest editor of the city guide Beijing and offers unique perspectives on exciting places in Beijing.