Relocation plans fail to ease concerns

Hutong dwellers on the brink of relocation say they still face major problems, after authorities released the latest guidelines concerning their move.

In a bid to speed up the relocation of residents as part of a multi-billion-yuan revamp of older parts of downtown Beijing, the municipal construction authority has distributed relocation quotas among five well-developed districts - Shunyi, Fengtai, Daxing, Changping and Chaoyang - and is relying on the governments of these districts to build housing for residents reluctant to move out of hutong slated for demolition, local media reported on Thursday.

A large number of residents in the old city don't want to move because they fear the relocated apartments will be far away from their old neighborhoods in central Beijing and lack adequate education and medical facilities.

The massive renovation project started before the 2008 Olympics and the relocation involves more than 200,000 residents from four districts in central Beijing.

Although critics and traditional architects have called the project "aggressive", Beijing authorities are determined to replace old housing in the downtown area with more commercial complexes and say they will insist new buildings reflect the traditional style of old Beijing.

The project was repeatedly disrupted in the past two years due to locals' concerns about new housing.

"The problem is not moving or staying - we just still have basic requests that authorities and developers must fulfill," said Gao Mingsheng, 52, whose family has lived in the Qianmen area in central Beijing for generations. "There's nothing wrong with asking them for a comfortable living space with heating."

"Some of us choose to leave the old neighborhood and move to the suburbs; some choose to stay in the revamped houses. Both groups have concerns," said Gao, who has decided to stay in his neighborhood in Xianyukou Hutong.

Beijing's Vice-Mayor Chen Gang said earlier that authorities will not force hutong residents to leave before they agree with the terms for resettlement.

"The relocation is voluntary," said Chen. "Affected residents can choose to stay in the revamped houses or move to new settlements in a new part of the city."

Chen, who oversees housing issues in the capital, also said that authorities expect 60,000 residents in the old city to move out of their old neighborhoods by 2011, although this means the government must build 2 million sq m of new apartments for these families by that time.

However, only 2,000 residents relocated last year. Officials have admitted this statistic emphasizes the currently stagnant nature of the relocation efforts.

The city will see more demolition and rebuilding as the revamp project and the expansion of the subway continues in the downtown area.