In a nation where millions still live below the poverty line, why should locals be concerned with preserving the physical remains of China's past? An audience of just under 100 mainly foreign Beijing residents gathered yesterday at Capital M overlooking Tiananmen Square to discuss this question at the roundtable Vanishing Beijing: Why Preservation Matters, organized by the Beijing Cultural Heritage Protection Center (CHP).

From criticizing Shanghai museum staff as an intern, to leading the charge against the planned wholesale demolition of Beijing’s Gulou area, He Shuzhong has never been afraid of causing a stir. He founded the Beijing Cultural Heritage Protection Center (CHP) as an NGO early this decade, and since then the CHP has grown into a national organization with thousands of members, working to empower communities across China.

On the eve of a CHP roundtable on preservation this weekend, theBeijinger.com spoke to He Shuzhong about his work and how Beijingers can become involved in the CHP.