The city of Beijing took the lead in promoting revitalization of ancient cities, to be aligned with its high level of urbanization and the guidance of "combination of protection and innovation". The revitalization is not to "repair the old as it is"; instead, it integrates modern architectural design elements into the buildings and uses innovative strategies through the spatial forms of historic blocks. This paper uses literature review and case studies to investigate relationships between the "ancient blocks" and "modern buildings" in Beijing. Various forms of newly-innovated traditional buildings (e.g., in Nanlouguxiang, Hu'er Hutong and Beijing Square in Dashilar) and modern new buildings (e.g., in China Grand Theatre and China Zun) were investigated and classified. In particular, this paper focusses on predicting the next-stage revitalization by analyzing the different roles played by both traditional and modern buildings in the ancient blocks and their innovative modern designs. The case study of Beijing can be used to understand the cultural connotation of modern architecture to promote innovation and revitalization