When the Nobel committee announced it was honouring Liu Xiaobo in October, a handful of daring supporters proclaimed their delight outside his Beijing flat, despite a heavy police presence.

Tonight, there was no such sign of dissent near his old home. But then, nor was there an entrance.

By a peculiar coincidence, local authorities had chosen this week to dig up the pavement around the gates of his complex. The rest of the street was intact.

"Work in progress. Apologies for inconvenience and thank you for your understanding," read a banner on the blue metal hoardings that blocked the view of the entrance.

Journalists were shepherded into a small pen close by.

There was little chance of protest anyway. Scores of sympathisers were detained or had their movements restricted today in the culmination of a two-month crackdown.

No one has been able to contact Liu's wife, Liu Xia, since a few days after the award's announcement. She was already under house arrest.

The reduced police presence outside her home tonight – perhaps two dozen uniformed and plainclothed officers – suggested she might well have been moved to another location.

While some dissidents are held at home, others have "been holidayed" – taken to beauty spots, in one case reportedly a spa, until international attention moves on.

Like the construction work outside Liu's home, the tactic is a reminder of the sometimes surreal quality to Beijing's fear and intolerance of dissent.