A screen wall can be seen inside the Siheyuan, a historical type of residence that was commonly found in Beijing, for privacy. Superstition holds that it also protects the house from evil spirits. The Siheyuan composition was the basic pattern used for residences, palaces, temples, monasteries, family, businesses and government offices. In ancient times, a spacious siheyuan would be occupied by a single, usually large and extended family, signifying wealth and prosperity. Today, however, most remaining siheyuan are used as mass housing complexes, and suffer from a lack of modern amenities.

Here are some photos showing the traditional patterns used for decoration on the screen walls.

Decoration on the screen walls of Beijing's Siheyuan. [China.org.cn]