This year's Government Work Report proposed steadily implementing urban renewal actions and work centered on the three major projects of people's livelihood projects, "inside" projects, and safety projects. After several years of practical exploration, many Chinese cities have preliminarily established urban renewal work frameworks. Recently, Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Tianjin, Chengdu, Quanzhou and other places have successively introduced a new round of measures to refine and optimize urban renewal.

　　What are the characteristics of urban renewal methods in different places? What are the new highlights of urban renewal at present? With these questions in mind, the reporter conducted interviews.

　　Targeted measures to solve urgent difficulties and pressing concerns

　　Old Beijing luzhu, Datong knife-cut noodles, Liuzhou luosifen, Northeast iron-pot stew... Walking north from the Dongsi subway station in Beijing, specialty snacks from all over the country on both sides of the street dazzle the eye. Along with the aroma of food come buildings with Beijing-style features that have been "restored as before." Urban renewal is adding new colors to Beijing.

　　Since the beginning of this year, focusing on residents' urgent difficulties and pressing concerns, urban renewal measures in various places have been rolled out one after another.

　　Some improve systems and mechanisms — the Beijing Municipal Commission of Housing and Urban-Rural Development recently issued three regulatory documents, including the "Measures for the Administration of the Determination of the Coordinating Entities of Urban Renewal Implementation Units in Beijing (Trial)," which officially took effect on May 10, 2024. According to reports, the new policies clarify the path for determining the coordinating entities of urban renewal implementation units in Beijing, focusing on solving problems in five aspects: "who can serve as the entity," "who determines the entity," "how to determine the entity," "what the entity can do," and "how to supervise and manage," while further streamlining the operating mechanism of the urban renewal project library.

　　Some explore scientific greening — protecting ancient and famous trees in urban areas is an important issue faced in the urban renewal work of Guangzhou, Guangdong Province. In August 2022, the Guangzhou Municipal Forestry and Landscaping Bureau used technological means to solve the relocation problem over five hours, achieving the country's first full-crown transplant of an ancient banyan tree. In the "Measures for the Implementation of the Renovation of Old Villages, Old Factory Buildings, and Old Towns in Guangzhou," which took effect on May 15 this year, Guangzhou once again emphasized that the "three olds" renovation should strengthen urban greening and tree protection work, optimize green space layout according to actual needs, and compile special chapters on tree protection as required.

　　Some shore up municipal shortcomings — "We won't have to wade through water to go out anymore," "The road in front of the door is no longer full of potholes"... In Yongnian District, Handan City, Hebei Province, many residents have felt the changes brought by municipal construction. It is understood that since the launch of Handan City's 2024 urban renewal campaign of "highlighting strengths, shoring up shortcomings, and clearing blockages," relevant departments have taken active action. Since March this year, the Yongnian District Housing and Urban-Rural Development Bureau has carried out surveys and screenings in areas such as sidewalk improvement and urban road pipeline network renovation, planning 26 road renovation and upgrading projects. At present, 16 roads have started construction, and renovation and upgrading are expected to be completed before August.

　　Zhang Wenzhong, a researcher at the Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, said in an interview with the reporter that urban renewal usually includes housing repair, adding public facilities, greening the environment, renewing commercial districts, protecting historic districts, and revitalizing and reusing old factory areas and old industrial areas, and is an important driving force for high-quality urban development. "Hundreds of cities across the country have established urban renewal work leading groups, and many places have issued urban renewal regulations, management measures, guiding documents, and various support policies. In addition to large cities, many small and medium-sized cities are also actively combining urban renewal with urban physical examinations, comprehensively identifying urban shortcomings in accordance with the model of 'examination first, renewal later' and 'no examination, no renewal,' promoting urban renewal work toward refinement, systematization, and scientific development," Zhang Wenzhong said.

　　Adapting to local conditions, development and protection complement each other

　　Every city has its own unique development history and cultural character, and the highlights of urban renewal are also different. Developing while protecting and protecting while developing requires adapting to local conditions and applying meticulous "embroidery" efforts.

　　Pan Fang, deputy dean of the Tsinghua Tongheng Planning and Design Institute, told the reporter that China's vast territory and uneven regional development determine that different places should adopt differentiated urban renewal strategies. For example, Tongling City in Anhui Province vigorously implements ecological restoration and actively explores new mechanisms for renewing old industrial areas; Hegang City in Heilongjiang Province converts abandoned land into green infrastructure such as parks, green spaces, and urban agriculture to enhance the city's attractiveness.

　　The Shangxin Street area in the central urban area of Jinan, Shandong Province, has many historical relics and former residences of famous people and possesses profound cultural heritage. But this area also has its own troubles: the existing buildings are mainly single-story houses built around the 1950s, and the living environment is poor; supporting facilities such as water, electricity, and gas in the surrounding area are outdated, and many residents still use pit latrines and bottled liquefied gas, making life inconvenient. The relocation of the original industries has also led to a lack of development momentum in the area.

　　"By protecting and revitalizing historical and cultural heritage, we improve living conditions and showcase the cultural charm of the area; through industrial introduction and enhancing the city's soft power, we provide residents and tourists with a richer and more colorful urban experience," Li Zhen, deputy general manager of the Shizhong Company of Jinan Urban Development Group, told the reporter. In the process of urban renewal, the renovation of Shangxin Street is not simple demolition and reconstruction, but revitalization and utilization on the basis of protection.

　　"Taking the Tian Family Courtyard as an example, during renewal and renovation, the construction procedures were first clarified, multiple technical briefings were conducted before construction, process samples were made, and acceptance checks and verification were repeated; during construction, sample sections were built first, and after the desired effect was achieved, batch construction was carried out. During house construction, in order to reduce disturbance to the original walls, the exterior wall sections were all cleaned and washed manually, wall bricks were repaired and replaced, and mortar joints were re-pointed, striving to remain consistent with the original architectural appearance," Li Zhen said.

　　This year, relevant departments in Jinan plan to complete the renovation and upgrading of old houses along Shangxin Street and Luoyuan Avenue and the municipal roads of Shangxin Street. Up to now, 70% of the renovation and repair of buildings along the street has been completed, and the laying of municipal pipelines and road backfilling and hardening have been completed.

　　Zhongshan Road is the north-south central axis of the ancient city of Quanzhou, Fujian, and has one of China's best-preserved and largest century-old red-brick arcade building complexes. In recent years, some buildings here have fallen into disrepair, and facade features have been damaged; underground pipe networks are old and drainage capacity is insufficient; overhead exposed wires are densely distributed, and various meter boxes are cluttered, restricting the protection and development of the ancient city.

　　Xie Yongming, deputy director of the Technical Center of the Quanzhou Municipal Housing and Urban-Rural Development Bureau, told the reporter that in order to revitalize the old street of the overseas Chinese hometown and preserve nostalgia, relevant departments in Quanzhou carefully stitched together urban functions in a manner of "low impact and minimal interference" to promote the renewal of the ancient city. "At present, we have completed the upgrading of Zhongshan Middle Road and 29 alleys in the ** sub-area, and are progressively carrying out upgrading work in areas such as Zhongshan South Road. In addition, Quanzhou has also carried out restoration and upgrading of important nodes, such as the Arts and Crafts Factory, Zhuangyuan Street, and Qingyuan Academy; and added urban supporting projects such as pocket parks, public toilets, transformer and distribution rooms, and parking lots," Xie Yongming said.

　　Xie Yongming believes that in the process of organic urban renewal, construction parties should apply meticulous "embroidery" efforts, striving to achieve micro-circulation in traffic organization, minimal interference with residents' lives, miniaturization of construction machinery, and minimal disturbance in construction organization, while ensuring construction safety, project quality, schedule control, water and electricity supply, schooling and work, and smooth roads.

　　Revitalizing resources to unleash high-quality development potential

　　As people's living standards and the quality of economic development continue to improve, localities across China are increasingly taking the initiative to promote urban renewal.

　　Urban renewal places greater emphasis on revitalizing resources. On April 9, as Tianjin's ** large-scale "industrial-to-industrial" project worth tens of billions of yuan, the Tianjin Port Free Trade Zone Harbor City urban renewal project started construction, aiming to upgrade and renovate existing industrial, warehousing, and logistics land, better stimulate the vitality of land factors, and promote industrial transformation, upgrading, and clustered development.

　　"The Tianjin harbor area has problems such as insufficient supporting facilities for producer services, poor traffic organization, and structural shortages of carriers. Harbor City urban renewal adheres to the simultaneous approach of 'demolition, renovation, and retention,' focusing on retention, utilization, and upgrading, and encourages small-scale, gradual organic renewal and micro-renovation. For the Guodun factory building, Harbor Central Park, and customs checkpoints, we adopt an upgrading and renovation approach to enhance structural safety, improve use functions, and renew the vitality of the harbor; for the Demin factory building and Jiuyi factory building, where existing facilities are relatively good, we adopt a renewal approach of 'major retention with minor repairs,' while serving existing high-quality industries well and enhancing the introduction of similar industries," Wang Hui, general manager of Tianjin Port Free Trade Zone Urban Renewal Investment and Construction Group Co., Ltd., told the reporter. The relevant measures aim to "revitalize stock, cultivate incremental growth, and improve quality."

　　Urban renewal places greater emphasis on people orientation. Recently, Lu Xiaojun, secretary of the Party Working Committee of the Huaihai Middle Road Subdistrict in Huangpu District, Shanghai, has had a packed schedule. In her schedule, a large number of appointments are related to the further renewal and renovation of the Danshui Road community. This community is the neighborhood with the strongest everyday life atmosphere in Shanghai's Hengfu Historical and Cultural风貌 Protection Area. With a permanent population of more than 8,000 within 0.33 square kilometers, it has great demand for urban renewal, many difficulties, and high requirements.

　　Lu Xiaojun introduced that around the Danshui Road community there are many office buildings and shopping malls, with many elderly residents, many young white-collar workers, many out-of-town tourists, and many small street shops nearby. "We have applied meticulous 'embroidery' efforts within a limited area, focusing not only on 'hardware' renovation but also on 'software' supporting facilities, striving to give all groups a sense of gain. For example, we promote the opening and sharing of affiliated green spaces of work units, turning enclosed green spaces in the neighborhood into street-corner parlors where people can 'walk in and sit down'; create convenient and interesting neighborhood 'zero-distance homes' to provide high-quality services for different groups; and promote the 'refresh' of the appearance of old residential communities, opening up discussion areas such as 'fireside tea chats' and creating spaces such as 'one-square-meter toy houses' to provide resting places for the elderly and children," Lu Xiaojun said.

　　"Urban renewal is not merely a simple renewal of physical space; it must also serve urban industrial upgrading and the improvement of residents' lives. In the future, urban renewal work will require more patience and perseverance to precisely meet the needs of different groups," Pan Fang said.