Construction cranes at work near the Forbidden City in Beijing, a region with many old hutong lanes and courtyard houses.Photos by Jiang Dong

Not many people know that a mosque once stood on West Chang'an Avenue of Beijing, opposite Xinhuamen, the main gate of Zhongnanhai, the seat of government.

The Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) emperor Qianlong (1711-1799) built the mosque for his beloved Fragrant Concubine, a Muslim from Xinjiang. Sitting by the window of her residence called Baoyuelou - today's Xinhuamen - she could look out to the mosque on the other side of the street and remember her hometown.

The mosque was demolished around 1930, but a white marble arch belonging to it remained in East Anfu Hutong on West Chang'an Avenue. After the founding of New China in 1949, the arch moved inside the compound of a building housing a PLA regiment, and has been there for the past half century.

This arch is now facing the uncertainty of being demolished or moved again, along with 778 traditional Chinese courtyard houses and 42 work units, with the government announcing a project to widen West Chang'an Avenue by the end of August.

A local resident and his dog in Guoxue Hutong, a well preserved old lane in Beijing.

While the residents are mostly anxious about the compensation they will receive, some people are more concerned about the historical buildings that are going to vanish.