The Century-old Lane Face-lifted

By Zhang Yanli

Originally the road was rough, but now it is a colorful and smooth road paved with permeable concrete, asphalt and plastic. In the past, the environment was dim and the walls around it fell off. Now, the light is enough, with full of green plants and flowers. Recently, the civilization building work of North Sichuan Road Sub-district has made new achievements. Hengshengli, the century-old lane, has shown new vitality upon the renovation, which has been praised by the residents.

The “pain point” over the years has changed into the scenic spot.

Hengshengli is a century-old lane located in the Shanyin Road Historic Preservation Zone. As the well-known “flower fragrance lane” in the zone, the main lane in Hengshengli is covered with green trees. However, one branch lane became a pain point of the Shanyi Residential Area because of six illegally-built rooms.

The six connected flat-floor rooms were special products in that era. As the illegal buildings, they were used for the group-oriented lease, thus bringing an array of hidden dangers. In the meanwhile, the six rooms blocked more than half of the passage in the lane and made the entire environment cramped.

In the “Four Musts for Five Illegal Items” campaign, the sub-district demolished the six rooms and opened up the entire lane. Since then, the sub-district did not get over with the demolition. Instead, it explored how to make good use of the demolished space and create a better environment for the residents.

After the renovation, the lane becomes a leisure and interaction area and a fitness area for residents. The leisure and interaction area is suffused with green plants and potted flowers. Under their shade, rows of comfortable seats are provided for the residents. Tai Chi Massager, Arm Strength Trainer, Waist and Back Massager and other sports facilities are installed in the fitness area. The road surface here is also quite special, as the roadbed is colored permeable concrete, the main road is poured with asphalt, and the road surface in the fitness area is made of plastic.

Additional Projects for the Elderly

More suitable places have been provided for the residents to take part in activities. The people may have leisure and interaction without going out of the lane. “This century-old lane has become beautiful. We feel much happier to live here”, said Yuan Jialong, a resident of the lane.

The resident’s satisfaction is also closely related to the refined survey of the sub-district in early days. Hengshengli has 314 households, and more than 60% are elderly people. Before the renovation, relevant departments of the sub-district held many symposiums to solicit opinions of the residents. According to the needs of the residents, they added suitable projects for the elderly and gave the residents more autonomy over the renovation project. Certain residents suggested that they wanted to take this opportunity to update the drying racks, and the sub-district adopted in a timely manner.

After several rounds of discussion and publicity, Hengshengli’s renovation involved a leisure and interaction area, a fitness area, an elderly activity area, a public drying area and a non-motor vehicle parking area. The sub-district also designed a planting area for the residents who love plants. Transplanting flowers planted at home into the planting area not only made the flowers grow better, but also made more residents enjoy the beauty of plants. The sub-district’s official hopes that upon the renovation, the residents will have a participatory co-governance space characterized by safe stay, openness and friendliness, which will reshape the neighborhood relations.

After the renovation, the sub-district will gradually repair and renovate other old lanes.