Abstract: Treating Liu Xinwu's urban writing as a part of the bigger background of the new era literature, this paper analyzes the characteristics of urban writing of his novels from various perspectives. First of all, compared with Beijing novels' infatuation with Beijing's urban provincialism, Liu Xinwu pays attention to the transformation of Beijing from the rural to the modern. Secondly, because of the strong regional identity and problem consciousness of Beijing, Liu Xinwu's urban writing presents the construction of “our city”. Finally, Liu Xinwu writes about the evolution of enlightenment in the city, rationally showing the impact of social and cultural transformation on different people. In a word, Liu Xinwu connects the tradition and modernity of Beijing and presents a three-dimensional picture of Beijing's urban development.

Key words: Liu Xinwu, urban writing, Beijing flavour, our city, enlightenment