General Secretary Xi Jinping's concerns | Heartwarming stories in the renovation of old residential areas Democratic Village | Xi Jinping | Heartwarming
Beijing, June 27 (Xinhua) -- Heartwarming stories in the renovation of old residential areas
"In China's modernization, people's livelihood is the most important thing. All the work of the Party and the government is to enable the people to live a happier life." In April this year, General Secretary Xi Jinping said earnestly during his inspection in Chongqing, "One thing the Party Central Committee is very concerned about is the renovation of old residential areas."
The renovation of old residential communities is an important task to enhance the people's sense of gain, happiness and security. Recently, reporters have visited many old residential communities in cities and found that various places have improved the environment, developed industries and strengthened governance in accordance with local conditions, making old residential communities full of vitality, and the people live in peace and comfort, and their lives are getting better and better.
Newly paved asphalt roads, colorful plastic basketball courts, neatly wired and clean corridors... Looking at his brand new home, Wei Hongde, who has lived in Yicai Community for nearly 40 years, said with satisfaction: "In the past, the houses in the community were dilapidated, the corridors were messy, the roads were bumpy, and vehicles were parked randomly, leaving the elderly and children with no leisure space. Now the environment is better, the property management has also kept up, and it is much more comfortable to live here!"
Yicai Community, built in the 1980s, is an old state-owned enterprise employee family area in Longfengqiao Street, Beibei District, Chongqing. It has 17 buildings and more than 600 households. Previously, due to the disrepair of housing facilities and lack of property management, some residents had no choice but to move away.
Yang Yuankai, director of the Longfengqiao Sub-district Office, introduced that the community was included in the old community renovation project in March last year. The local government focused on the characteristics of the community with many elderly residents. While working hard to solve common problems such as house repairs, pipeline network improvements, and parking regulations, it also added leisure and fitness venues and carried out elderly-friendly renovations on roads.
The picture shows the renovated Yicai Community in Longfengqiao Street, Beibei District, Chongqing. The public facilities have been improved and residents are exercising. Photo by reporter Zhou Kai
Residents vote with their feet to see whether the renovation is effective or not. Before the renovation, there were more than 100 vacant houses in Yicai Community. After the renovation was completed in January this year, many residents moved back. Currently, there are only more than 20 vacant houses left.
General Secretary Xi Jinping has repeatedly stressed that "the renovation of old residential areas is directly related to the people's sense of gain, happiness and security, and is an important task to improve the quality of people's lives." "The renovation of old urban areas must respond to different wishes and requirements, and the workload is huge. Relevant departments must do a deep and detailed job."
Local governments have taken measures to adapt to local conditions and actively explored and promoted the work - Changsha, Hunan, has focused on revitalizing idle houses in old residential areas and transforming them into public service facilities such as elderly care, childcare, and meal assistance; Zibo, Shandong, has simultaneously promoted the replacement of energy-saving doors and windows, and the renovation of water, electricity, heating and other facilities; Guangdong has guided public service units such as water, electricity, gas, and telecommunications to invest in the renovation of old residential areas...
The picture shows the exterior wall construction of the old residential area renovation project in Heyuan Community, Lishan Street, Yiyuan County, Zibo City, Shandong Province has been completed.
Eliminating hidden dangers, adding functions, and improving the environment, the renovation of old communities has brought tangible benefits to residents. According to statistics from the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development, from 2019 to 2023, 220,000 old urban communities will be newly renovated nationwide, benefiting more than 38 million households and about 100 million people, updating and renovating nearly 300,000 kilometers of pipelines, installing 108,000 elevators, adding more than 26 million square meters of leisure and fitness venues, and adding 68,000 community service facilities such as elderly care, childcare, and convenience markets.
Changgou Coffee, which has become popular on social media, has recently become a "net celebrity shop" in Minzhu Village Community, Jiulongpo District, Chongqing. Feng Sha, a girl born in the 1990s, is the owner of Changgou Coffee. A year ago, she quit her job in another place and returned to her childhood home to start a business.
"Minzhu Village is completely different from what I remembered!" Feng Sha said. This was once a residential area for the families of a large local state-owned enterprise, with more than 100 old residential buildings, the oldest of which is more than 70 years old. Due to years of disrepair and dirty environment, Minzhu Village is in sharp contrast to the bustling business district just 100 meters away.
Collage photos: The top photo shows an old building in the Minzhu Village community in Jiulongpo District, Chongqing before renovation. The bottom photo shows the community square in the Minzhu Village community in Jiulongpo District, Chongqing after renovation. Photo by reporter Huang Wei
In April this year, General Secretary Xi Jinping visited the Minzhu Village community to inspect the community renovation and convenience services and pointed out that the renovation of old communities is a focus of urban renewal and a people's livelihood project. It is necessary to not only preserve historical memory and unique features, but also solve practical problems of concern to residents.
"There are two practical issues that residents are most concerned about: livability and suitability for business." Tang Wanmin, chairman of Jiulongpo Urban Renewal Construction Co., Ltd., said that through micro-renovation and clever use of "retention, modification, demolition and increase", Minzhu Village has not only preserved its historical imprint, but also improved its residential functions. It has also actively developed new business formats based on its location advantages and distinctive features. At present, there are more than 100 coffee shops, restaurants and bars, cultural and creative stores, etc. founded and introduced by community residents, and a steady stream of tourists come to "check in".
On April 21, several children played in the square of the urban renewal project in Minzhu Village, Xiejiawan Street, Jiulongpo District, Chongqing, with a wide variety of restaurants behind them. Photo by reporter Huang Wei
With a view to preserving historical memory and distinctive features and striving to improve the living environment, many cities, while promoting the renovation of houses in old communities, are also cultivating and expanding emerging business formats through measures such as exploring historical and cultural resources. New cultural and tourism consumption landmarks have emerged, such as Chongqing Daijia Lane, No. 7 Yulin South Road, Chengdu, and Changsha Xiyuan Beili.
The 228th block in Changbai New Village, Yangpu District, Shanghai, was one of the first "20,000-household" workers' communities built in Shanghai in the 1950s. At the beginning of last year, the local government collected opinions from all parties and carried out a "renovation of the old and renovation of the old" renovation of 12 old buildings in the 228th block in accordance with the principle of "expropriation without demolition, preservation of memory, and retention of nostalgia". It not only retained convenient business formats such as tailor shops, shoe repair shops, and watch repair shops, but also introduced various trendy shops, built a citizen fitness center, talent apartments, and launched an immersive exhibition of "worker culture"...
Through the organic combination of physical space transformation and public service implantation, the 228 neighborhood has achieved a restoration of its appearance and function, becoming a new community that retains the industrial imprint and the glory of model workers while leading modern life. Wang Limin, an old resident who has lived here for more than 30 years, couldn't help but sigh: "Not only did I not expect my home to be preserved intact, but the neighborhood has also become a place suitable for living and working."
"The roads are clean and tidy now, and the houses look brand new inside and out. With the installation of an elevator, I no longer feel tired going upstairs..." Chen Chonghui, a resident of Xingjiaqiao Community, Renhe Street, Liangjiang New District, Chongqing, smiled brightly when talking about the new life after the renovation of old houses in the community.
Built in the early 1990s, Xingjiaqiao Community is one of the earliest "rural-to-urban" resettlement housing communities in Chongqing. As time goes by, problems such as peeling walls, leaking houses, aging facilities, and lack of property management are very prominent. However, when the community was approved for comprehensive renovation, many community residents were skeptical: Is it a "face project"? At that time, the support rate for the renovation project was only 23%.
No matter how difficult it is, it is not difficult to ask the people for advice. Xie Lan, secretary of the Party Committee of Xingjiaqiao Community, led community cadres and party members to visit 488 households one by one, organized more than 70 party member meetings, residents meetings, and courtyard meetings, listened to more than 5,000 opinions, and formed a working idea of "pilot first, then promote". Before the Spring Festival in 2019, 4 model houses were unveiled, allowing residents to see the appearance of the "new home" with their own eyes. The attitudes of the residents changed drastically, and the support rate quickly rose to 73%. By the beginning of 2020, the first phase of the community renovation project was completed, and 488 old houses were completely renewed.
Collage photos: The top photo shows the Xingjiaqiao community in Renhe Street, Liangjiang New District, Chongqing before the renovation. The bottom photo shows residents relaxing in the courtyard of Xingjiaqiao community in Renhe Street, Liangjiang New District, Chongqing after the renovation.
"During the transformation process, community cadres and party members communicated repeatedly, won the hearts of the people with their sincerity, explored and formed a new method of community governance, achieved the simultaneous upgrade of physical 'hardware' and governance 'software', and simultaneously improved the role of grassroots party organizations as a fighting fortress and the centripetal force and cohesion of the masses." said Li Jianbin, secretary of the Party Working Committee of Renhe Street, Liangjiang New District.
In April this year, General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized during his inspection in Chongqing that it is necessary to clarify the responsibilities of urban communities, continue to push resources downward and improve service facilities, strengthen grid management and information support, and improve the level of refined community governance and precise services.
All localities have made pragmatic progress, guided by the actual needs of the people and innovating work methods and approaches in accordance with local conditions.
In Jialing District, Nanchong City, Sichuan Province, in order to provide good property services after the renovation of old communities, Jialing District explored the community-led red property and bottom-line property service model. The party organizations in each community led the red property companies to manage and serve the residents, effectively solving the problem of missing properties in old communities.
Based on the pilot projects of "Zhejiang Workers' New Village" in Gongshu District, Hangzhou and "Yong'anli Area" in Jiangshan City, Quzhou, Zhejiang Province has actively expanded and promoted a model for the renovation of old urban communities that combines demolition and reconstruction through owner-initiated renewal, and explored new ways to resolve the dangers and renovation of dilapidated houses in old communities.
On June 11, in the Qingyouxili community of Nanshi Street, Heping District, Tianjin, the community canteen was being debugged and prepared to open for business in the near future. Photo by reporter Sun Fanyue
In the renovation of old residential quarters and the construction of a "complete community", Qingyouxili Community in Nanshi Street, Heping District, Tianjin, completed the collection of opinions and suggestions in less than two months by combining the "red fortress" of grassroots party organizations with the "red grid" of the community, and combining online opinion collection with offline home visits. It also clarified the key focus of the renovation of "one old and one young" to "suitable for the elderly and children". While renovating old houses, it also built community canteens, elderly care service agencies, childcare service centers and other public service facilities. The renovation project will be completed soon...
