Handel Lee gets things done in Beijing. A lawyer, motorcycle collector, art dealer and the owner of The Courtyard - one of Beijing's finest restaurants - he appreciates the good things in life, which is why he went to the trouble and expense of creating his own home from what he admits was a dilapidated courtyard house in an old part of central Beijing.
Most foreign residents in Beijing - including American-Chinese such as Mr Lee - have to live in hotel apartments, suburban villas or the ugly compounds set aside for diplomats and journalists. Almost all of this housing is sterile and outrageously overpriced.
In the past few years, however, foreigners have started to break out of the ghettos to which Beijing's authorities had confined them. Students have spilled out of university dormitories into local Chinese housing, and businessmen, professionals and even diplomats increasingly are setting up home around the city.
In Beijing, a refurbished courtyard house comes with a hefty price tag. While foreigners cannot own land, it is possible to buy land rights for a 50-year lease in certain approved areas.
For a courtyard house, lease prices range from US$300,000 to $500,000. Add another $100,000 for renovations and upgrading household infrastructure and it becomes a big investment.
Some Hong Kong developers are building and renovating courtyard houses in the Houhai area. Hong Kong-listed Beijing Land is building 20 large courtyard house units in that area, where rents for the style are up to $10,000 per month.