Remaking of Residential Houses

A large number of new, modern, intelligent residential buildings have enabled a large number of Beijing residents to relocate from dilapidated one-story houses where they may have lived for generations to spacious new apartments with a view. The "green" residential houses built in the process of urbanization of suburban towns have encouraged urban residents to say good-bye to the hustle-bustle of inner city life. In 2005, the total investment in real estate development in Beijing was 152.5 billion yuan (US$19.1 billion). About 28.03 million square metres of commercial housing and 25.66 million square metres of residential houses were sold. Under construction were 80.4 million square metres of residential houses, and 46.792 million square metres of other housing. About 30.24 million square metres of residential housing was completed. Under the Tenth Five-year Plan there were 556.04 million square metres of residential housing under construction and about 119.28 million square metres of residential housing was completed, 1.8 times and double that of the Ninth Five-year Plan (1996-2000).

The General Urban Layout for Beijing (2004-2020) approved by the central government in 2005, indicates a change in urban development strategy and requires that original, historic urban areas be protected as a whole. In line with the planning outlines, two methods have been adopted for upgrading dilapidated houses in downtown areas. One is the "microcirculation" renovation mode; the other is called the "dilapidated houses relief project." The two methods allow residents to seek new, more modern housing, leaving their dilapidated, but historic homes intact. This helps to preserve the original form and appearance of the old city while enabling more than 10,000 households to relocate to new, more spacious housing within a short period of time.

In 2005, there were about 8.9 million square metres of economically affordable housing under construction that the city's low- and middle-income people were entitled to buy. About 3.56 million square metres this kind of housing was completed and about 3.04 million square metres were sold. Simultaneously, municipal authorities gave subsidies to nearly 4,000 households for them to rent low-rent houses, to buy low-priced houses. Others were given direct property rights to their homes and rental fees were waived for another 10,000 households or more.