Twenty years ago, when I was studying piano at the Royal Academy of Music in London, the only Asian students in the practice room were mostly from Japan, with a few more from South Korea. By the time I left, however, the number of instrumentalists from China was beginning to outstrip both. I couldn't have known it at the time, but as its economy shifted into top gear, so, too, was Beijing quietly carving out a role as an arts capital.

With students at top conservatories abroad and teaching facilities improving in China itself, the 1990s produced a breed of prize-winning musicians that began first with Li Yundi at the Chopin Piano Competition, then Lang Lang who now dominates the concert circuit.

This was followed by a fresh generation led by Wang Yuja inspired by the success that came before them.

Watching this up close a few years back, a pianist friend of mine in California predicted that what we would see next would be world-class venues in Beijing. True enough, the National Center for the Performing Arts sprang up in time for the Olympics. That, together with the Bird's Nest and Water Cube, has also done much to redefine a city that seems to have abandoned a "bigger-is-better" mentality for a skyline that's more thoughtful and hopefully gentler.

Indeed, it's not always about pushing full steam ahead, but sometimes about pausing to look back, too. Chinoiserie was an important design movement that took off in the mid to late 17th century that was adopted into the wider, European repertory.

It materialised particularly in architecture with the Pagoda by Sir William Chambers at Kew Gardens in London, with other examples ranging from bedrooms at Badminton, miniature houses in Potsdam, and even a whole replica village built by Catherine the Great.

Orientalism was seen from literature to theatre, and from the ballet to photography. The design of 19th century paintings, pavilions, and palaces were all affected. As von Fürstenberg points out, it's the living proof that while the Chinese know how to copy, they and many other Asian countries, once offered the West some of the major innovations from which all of us rightfully benefit.

Open up a magazine or browse through the Internet, and every night there seems to be a listing for a play, concert, or opera in Beijing. Crucially, these are not just in the big brand locations I mentioned earlier, but often in small, community gatherings where talent and ability has more of a chance of being noticed, nurtured and harnessed.

Beijing can be a cultural capital. In some ways it already is. And more exciting opportunities are waiting just ahead.