“OPEN HEARTS, OPEN DOORS” AT THE LIBRARY

Before Lisa See’s standing room only Author Night appearance at the South Pasadena Public Library on October 20, the South Pasadena Chinese-American Club presented a copy of a beautiful book to both the bestselling novelist and to the Library. “Open Hearts, Open Doors: Reflections on China’s Past and Future” by Elizabeth Gill Lui is a lavish, bilingual (English and Mandarin) coffee table book and it’s available to be checked out from the Library.

The book provides a visual tour of traditional villages throughout rural areas of southeastern China. The photos were taken between 1995 and 2006 while Elizabeth Lui was a visiting artist at the Chinese University of Hong Kong in the Architecture Department. The stunning images depict historic streetscapes, agricultural vistas, and villages that Lui believes should be saved because preservation enhances cultural identity so much. The book’s theme is very compelling because China has already destroyed about 75 percent of the old city of Beijing, including hundreds of Ming dynasty dwellings, in favor of a new financial district, “Open Hearts, Open Doors” is an important reflection on efforts to help China to preserve a valuable part of its rich cultural legacy.

Ms. Lui was in the audience for the Lisa See event and declared, “I feel honored to have the South Pasadena Chinese-American Club gift my book to the Library. I hope that the community will be able to join with me in a commitment to fighting for heritage preservation in China. Elizabeth Gill Lui has been scheduled for an Author Night in the South Pasadena Public Library Community Room on October 18, 2012 at 7:00 p.m. She has also written “Building Diplomacy: The Architecture of American Embassies” and “Closed Mondays.”