Dongcheng deputies give advice on old house renovation

As one of the central districts in Beijing, Dongcheng is home to many old residential communities and one-storey houses and problems like bad living environment, gathering of too many industrial functions and low end industries are prominent. Deputies to Beijing Municipal People’s Congress from Dongcheng district discussed issues like renovation of old residential communities, clarifying house property right and home-based elderly care in the group discussion of the 5th Session of the 14th Beijing Municipal People’s Congress on January 15 morning.

Deputies from Dongcheng district discuss issues like livable communities and elderly care in the group discussion of the 5th Session of the 14th Beijing Municipal People’s Congress held on the morning of January 15, 2017. [Photo by Tang Xia/Qianlong]

“Beijing has altogether 1,700 old residential communities, and I have made proposals on their renovation almost every year as a deputy to Beijing Municipal People’s Congress for ten years,” said Zang Meihua. Zang expressed that many houses in old residential communities are deteriorating and small in area and space and thus bring inconvenience to people’s lives.

“I find that some toilets in old residential communities are too small to hold a fat man,” added Zang. She suggested that a detailed plan for old residential community renovation should be worked out as quickly as possible.

Yang Lixin, another deputy to Beijing Municipal People’s Congress who has many years’ grassroots work experience, also pointed out that bad infrastructure, management and green land maintenance in old residential communities have become the cruxes in the development of central districts in Beijing.

Dongcheng offered property management services to about 50 hutongs in the district last year and made some progress. Therefore, Yang suggested that management standards be set up for and property management services be adopted by old residential communities, and finance investment be increased to renovate old residential communities.