Residents in a recently renovated housing community in Shanghai which was visited by Chinese President Xi Jinping during his inspection tour to the city on Wednesday have shared how the upgrades have significantly improved their living standards compared to the past.
Xi toured a residential community in the city's Huangpu District where a series of buildings dating back nearly seven decades have been extensively renovated and upgraded in recent years.
The historic Shimin Xincun residential area in the Bansongyuan Road Subdistrict, where Xi visited, had several old buildings originally built back in the 1950s, but over time faced prominent problems such as structural safety hazards and lacked modern sanitation facilities.
However, the community was one of many residential areas to benefit from a large-scale modernization initiative in the Huangpu District which was completed in March this year. Among the locals who got to meet with the Chinese President during his tour to the community on Wednesday was 68-year-old Huang Liping, who recounted how different life in this neighborhood was in the past.
"I told President Xi how dramatically our lives have changed. He was warm and approachable, asking about my family like an old friend. Forty years ago, five of us lived in a 10-square-meter room, sharing a kitchen and bathroom with our neighbors. Now we finally have our own kitchen and bathroom, and the environment is so much better," Huang said.
The changes came as part of a comprehensive renovation project launched in Huangpu in 2022 which involved over 350 households. It sought to address housing safety issues, ensure each home had its own private kitchen and bathroom, and introduced a wave of other improvements such as the installation of elevators, new independent balconies, pocket gardens, underground parking, and other amenities.
For residents here, the conclusion of the renovation work marks the end of decades of inconvenience once common in Shanghai’s old neighborhoods.
President Xi's visit to the community was a source of excitement for 72-year-old Xu Yinghe, who was born and raised here and has witnessed the dramatic changes which have taken place. "There used to be just one shared squat toilet for 10 families. I even fell there twice, and in winter it would freeze over. Life became increasingly difficult. Now we finally have our own bathroom. And with the new elevator, getting around is much easier," he said.
Residents of renovated community in Shanghai welcome improved living standards
