ByNiYanshuo
TheupcomingG20Summitisnotjustanoccasionforworldleadersandtopentrepreneurstocometogetheranddiscussthetrendsandsolutionsforglobaleconomicdevelopment.TheresidentsofMantoushanCommunityofShangchengDistrictinHangzhou,hostcityofthesummittobeheldonSeptember4-5,havealsobeenreapingthebenefitsfromthesummit’spreparations.
Grassrootsupgrades
“IhadneverimaginedthatIwouldhavebeenlivinginahouselikethis,”said64-year-oldXuanWenying,pointingtothenewhousebehindher.
Rowsofnewneatly-paintedhouseswithwhitewallsandgreytileshaverecentlyappearedinMantoushanCommunity,eachhavingakitchenandabathroom,aswellasaccesstotapwaterandnaturalgassupply.
“It[myoldhouse]wasnotlikethis.TherewasnoflushtoiletandIhadtogoouttocleanmybuckettoiletmorethan100metersawayeveryday,”XuantoldChinAfrica.Shehasbeenlivinginthiscommunityfor25years.“Myoldhousewasinsuchapoorconditionthatwhentherewasatyphoon,wehadtogotothenearbyschool[totakerefuge].Butnow,wedonotneedtodothat.”
MantoushanCommunitywhereXuanlivesisasymboloftherichhistoryofHangzhou,whichwasChina’scapitalduringtheSouthernSongDynasty(1127-1279).However,becauseofthis,thecommunity-identifiedasoneoftheancientimperialcities-wasnotallowedtocarryoutlarge-scalerenovationasmanyoldbuildingshereareunderprovincialprotection.Fordecades,residentsherehadtofacesuchproblemsasdecrepithouses,narrowroadsandweb-likeelectricitywires.
“Becauseofthepoorconditions,manyyoungpeopleleftthecommunity,leavingmostlyoldpeoplelivinghere,”LuJun,anofficialfromShangchengDistrict,toldChinAfrica.“Fortunately,Hangzhou’shostingoftheG20Summitprovidesagoodopportunityforustorevampthecommunityasweneedtoprepareagoodcityenvironmentforthisevent.”
InOctoberlastyear,restorationofthecommunitybegan,withthegoalofupgradingMantoushantoanurbanlandscapefeaturinguniqueimperialcapitalcharacteristicsoftheSouthernSongDynasty.Duringtheprocess,manyoldhouseswerereinforcedwhileotherswererebuiltstrictlyaccordingtotheiroriginalstyleandappearance.
“WewillmakesurethatthecommonpeoplecanbenefitfromtheG20Summit’spreparations.AllG20relatedprojectsarecloselyrelevanttopeople’slife,”saidMiaoChengchao,SecretaryoftheShangchengDistrictCommitteeoftheCommunistPartyofChina.
Luandhiscolleaguesinspectedeveryhomeinthiscommunityandcameupwithdifferentrenovationplansfordifferenthouses.
“Forinstance,duringourinspection,weclassifiedXuan’sresidenceasaD-leveldecrepithouse,whichmeansthatpeoplecouldnotliveinthehouseevenafteritsreinforcement,”saidLu.Giventhis,Xuan’shousewasreconstructedaccordingtoitsoriginalsize,heightandappearance.Meanwhile,theinnerstructurewasredesigned,makingplaceforakitchenandabathroom.
Toensurethateachhousecouldbeequippedwithaninsidetoilet,undergroundinfrastructureinthisareawasrenovated,withasewagenetworkbuilt.Inaddition,anundergroundwirenetworkwasmadeavailabletoreplacetheweb-likeelectricitywires.
Improvedlifestyle
Soonafterthe2016SpringFestival(February8),Xuanandherneighborsmovedbacktotheirnewhouses.“Wedidn’tpayasinglecentfortherenovation,whilereceiving3,000yuan($451)fromthegovernmenttosubsidizeourrentalfeesduringtherenovationofourcommunity,”saidasatisfiedXuan.
Therevampedcommunitymaintainsitstraditionalappearance,butitsresidentsnowenjoybroaderstreets.ThereisalsoaNeighborhoodCenter,whichincludesavegetablemarket,alibrary,acalligraphycenterandanentertainmentcenter.Thenewlybuilt14,000-squaremeterMantoushanParkservesasthecommunity’snatural“oxygenbar.”
MantoushanCommunityhasmorethan6,000nativeresidentslivingin2,646households,ofwhicharound1,000havebenefitedfromthefirstphaseoftherenovationprogram.“Inthefirstphase,wedidnotdemolishandrebuildallthehouses;instead,werebuiltthosethathadtoberebuiltandreinforcedothers.Thisway,withlessmoneyspent,wehavehelpedmorepeopleimprovetheirhousingconditions,”MiaotoldChinAfrica.
AcornerofMantoushanCommunitybeforeandafterrenovation
YuhuangShannanFundTownafterremodeling
AccordingtoMiao,thegovernmentallocatedapproximately100millionyuan($15million)forthefirstphaseoftheproject.“Weoriginallyplannedtorebuildallthehouseshere,whichwouldcost700millionyuan($105million).Wegaveupthatplanduetotoohighcosts.”
LutoldChinAfricathatthesecondandthirdphasesoftherenovationprogramhavealreadystarted.“Basedontheexperiencewegotduringthefirstphase,wewilldobetterinthenexttwophases,”Lusaid.
Fast-trackedconstruction
ThepreparationsfortheG20SummitinHangzhoualsoacceleratedtheconstructionofaseriesofdistinctivetownsinHangzhou,includingthe3-square-kmYuhuangShannanFundTowninShangcheng,whichishometo810financialinstitutions,hencethename.Theseinstitutionshavehelpedprovide124billionyuan($18.65billion)offinancingto629real-economyprojects.Establishedlastyear,thetownwillexpandtocover5squarekmby2018,accordingtoMiao.
Formerlyavillage,thetownusedtosufferheavilyfromitsoutdatedpollutingfactories.Now,oldfactorybuildingshavebeenrenovatedintoconferencecenters,andoldresidentialdwellingswererenovatedintoofficebuildingsfortheuseoffundinstitutions,whilelocalresidentshavemovedintothenewapartmentsbuiltbythegovernment.
Toprovideconvenienceforfinancialinstitutions,relevantlocalgovernmentagencieshaveopenedofficesinthetowntoensuretheseinstitutionsenjoyone-stopservice.
RuanZhiyi,PresidentofSafe&RichAdventureCapitalCo.Ltd.,toldChinAfricathattheG20eventwillhelpraiseHangzhou’simageintheworldcommunity,“which,inreturn,willbringmorebusinessopportunitiestous.”
Theboomingtownalsoprovidesthegovernmentwithincreasedtaxrevenue.In2015,localtaxrevenuereached400millionyuan($60million).Miaoestimatedthatthefigurewilleasilyexceed1billionyuan($150million)thisyear.
“Thesignificanceofthefundtowngoesbeyondtheincreasingtaxrevenue.Moreimportantly,ithasmadeanimportantcontributiontothedevelopmentoftherealeconomyinZhejiangProvince,andevenChina,”Miaoadded.CA
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