Villages #22 and 23: Hou’niwa and Shiliuzhuang

Village #22

Hou’niwa village 后泥洼, Lugouqiao township卢沟桥乡, Fengtai district 丰台区  

konjaku: I found very little on this village. A blog post indicates that some villagers were not satisfied with the compensation plan.

http://blog.sina.com.cn/s/blog_58ea08430102vpx7.html

The villages called Niwa are in northeast Fengtai, established in the Qing (1644-1911). Because the ground is low, when there was a heavy rain the area flooded, the roads became muddy and barely passable, therefore Ni “Mud” and Wa “swamp.” The land is composed of silt deposits accumulated at the delta of the Yongding river. As the number of villagers increased, the village gradually extended northward, until it became a southern part, Qian’niwa (“front” niwa) and Hou’niwa (“rear” niwa). Niwa is a station on the Beijing #10 subway loop line.

http://old.landscape.cn/news/events/city/2010/0419/41427.html

Lugouqiao township Hou’niwa village. 3.94 hectares of land was set aside for replacement housing, with 124,000 square meters of built space, with buildings set at 80 meters high.

konjaku: the following is from a blog

http://dq.tieba.com/p/864201693

All Hou’niwa villagers please take note:

As for the Hou’niwa demolition problems, the situation is similar to Xiju!

To the village leaders: When you take a break from your busy schedule,  and dip into the public till to treat yourself to a meal or a  drink and a smoke, what you do to your body is your own affair. But take a look at what is happening around you. Remember, you were once ordinary people, living among the same villagers you now lead. Consider well the demolition and relocation question. Giving each person 46 square meters of space in replacement housing is something we villagers cannot accept! Give us a more rational solution!

Now I say to all villagers:

Stand firm and united through thick and thin!

If we don’t get a better contract offer, don’t give in and sign!

konjaku: in the absence of further details, at least from other cases we see that villagers assume that 50 square meters is the standard to meet, and resist any shaving off from that figure.

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Village #23 Shiliuzhuang village 石榴庄村, Nanyuan township 南苑乡, Fengtai district 丰台区

konjaku:  Shiliuzhuang was apparently a large village, with a population of 6000. Since may villagers had already relocated due to construction projects in the past, about 2000 were left. What is missing in these accounts is a sense of whether the village site was a highly valued location which could be sold to a developer for an astronomical price, or whether there are factors which inhibited its value, in which case the local government had to worry about paying out over a billion yuan in village transformation which it might not recoup. The latter seems more likely. This would explain why the authorities offered the villagers less in compensation than originally proposed, and less than other surrounding villages, which led to resistance on the part of a number of villagers (how many is hard to determine). There are two conflicting narratives: the tragic resistance of some villagers who took the most extreme measures to protest, and the triumphant story of the beautiful replacement housing which won a coveted architectural prize.

The principal worry of villagers who have a stable income from renting before they move, is what will be their source of income when they relocate to residential complexes. They may see their compensation payment as the last sum of money they know they will receive, and everything after that undetermined. Therefore any amount less than what they feel is appropriate can be a huge source of anxiety.

http://news.sina.com.cn/c/2010-01-26/062816995181s.shtml

2010-01-26

konjaku: excerpt from a longer article

Shiliuzhuang has an area of 2.4 square kilometers. Surrounded by tall buildings, it is a typical urban village.

Lao Gao, 72,  is a born and bred, 100 percent Shiliuzhuang villager. He previously lived on Number 17 West Street in the village, and had a 400 square meter one-story house. Like his neighbors, he rented out his spare rooms, garnering a pretty impressive monthly income.  Apart from this he had no other occupation. However, along with the income,  every day he had to deal with problems associated with renting: problems with water, electricity, kerosene. The strained infrastructure in the village meant there were many hidden dangers. 

The history of Shiliuzhuang villagers renting rooms can be traced back to 1991, when there was a large influx of people who came to open businesses in Dahongmen [site of a large clothing wholesale market]. Prices varied over the years, but in recent years Laogao could get 400 yuan a month for a small room. However, in the 12th month of last year, Lao Gao moved out of his village home, in preparation to move into the new replacement housing on Puhuangyu Road. Now that his house is demolished, it means his “rice bowl” [way of making a living] is gone as well.

For the present, Lao Gao and his wife are living at their son’s house nearby. Their original home is reduced to a pile of rubble. There are twelve people altogether in Lao Gao’s family. According to the compensation plan,  on his 400 square meter house, Lao Gao will get 12,000 yuan per square meter, and can buy a residence in the replacement housing for a reduced price of 7000 yuan per square meter [these figures differ from later accounts of Shiliuzhuang compensation, see below]. At this price, each person (the twelve in his family) is eligible to buy 40 square meters at the reduced price. They anticipate that they will be able to move in before 2012.

As many of the villagers are elderly, and their level of education or training is low, a one-time compensation payment will not solve the problem of how they will support themselves in the future. But Lao Gao is not in the least bit worried. “Before the demolition we had a number of village assemblies, and they said each person will get a thirty square meter store, to manage themselves, or we could rent it out.” Lao Gao doesn’t really know how to manage a store, but thinks it can’t be much different from hia previous experience of managing rentals.  In any case, he will still have a steady income. Also, he has 46,000 shares in the village common stock fund,  therefore he feels assured that that will also provide him with a steady income going forward.

General Party Branch Secretary Xu Wanchao calculates that villagers will have the following sources of income once the village is demolished: the village collective has increased its subsidy to those who have reached retirement age, to 770 yuan per month. The usual rate for villages is 650 yuan per month. Also,  retired persons have a nest egg of 35,000 yuan from village common stock. Once they get a 30 square meter business, if they rent out the space, Xu Manchao calculates that at 1 yuan per square meter, they will get about 10,000 yuan a year.

Xu Manchao said,  “In theory, we could take the collective village capital and divide it now among all the villagers, which would be a considerable sum. But for a continuing income, it would be better to let this captal appreciate in value along with the economic development of village property, which will translate into more long-term profits for all.”

konjaku: here the compensation is 12,000 yuan per square meter, with an option buy a residence in the replacement housing for a reduced price of 7000 yuan per square meter. This article is dated 2010-01-26. It is possible that some villagers received this plan, but, as the following article shows, a new plan was introduced with reduced terms in 2010-07, which became the source of protests.

The Shiliuzhuang Village Demolition Vexations

2010-09-01

http://finance.ifeng.com/news/20100901/2577173.shtml

Shiliuzhaung village is between the southern third and fourth rings, locate at the last stop of the number 5 subway line, at Songjiazhuang station. It is in Fengtai district,, one of the 50 listed -up villages.

This reporter found on the internet that the villagers were using a message board to post challenges to the demolition and relocation plan. The villagers have already applied three times to have an audience with the higher authorities, and they were going to pick representatives to safeguard their rights and interests.This reporter decided to go to the village to take a look. 

The area around the number 5 subway exit was crowded with pedicabs and venders selling things. The ground was flooded with sewage water and garbage –this was without question the typical scene of an urban village. Further down along a dusty road, this reporteer saw some villagers sitting under a clump of trees. It turns out they were waiting to convene a meeting to elect representatives.

At 2 o’clock on 08-03-2010, 200 villagers assembled in the village assembly hall to elect representatives. Unlike previous assemblies, this was a spontaneous action organized by the villagers themselves, not something convened under the supervision of the village committee.

“We were forced to get to this point.” So said Zhou Jie, 29, a Shiliuzhuang villager who had been one of the organizers of the assembly. “The demolition and relocation plan announced by the village committee does not follow the requirements spelled out in the national policy, snd the original village representatives were not able to express the villagers true aspirations. There were previously 72 village representatives, but they were not chosen by us, and they didn’t really represent us, we did not even know who they were.”

Zhou Jie was an accountant, but because she had been organizing the village election, for the last nine days she has not been to work.  This reporter discovered that those who had been bustling from place to place organizing the meeting and putting together the documents were young people in their late 20s. 

“They have education, they understand the law, and they figured out the many problems with the demolition and relocation plan, matters we old peasants can’t understand, “ an older villager told this reporter. It appears they really believe in the younger people.

The assembly went in perfect order, with the ballot selection, registering of votes, calling out the names of those selected,  and finally, on the spot verification. The names of the elected representatives were neatly written out,  to each of which was affixed a thumbprint and phone number.

Zhou Jie said the balloting had gone on for two days, and they were now in the final stage of putting together the list of all those selected. Every villager was to append their signature to the list, and since some villagers were at work during the day, the gathering of signatures would continue into the night.

Zhou Jie emphasized that the villagers needed to know who their representatives were, and the representatives needed to know which villagers they represented. To allow the villagers to clearly understand this concept, she asked an elected representative at random to call out the names of villagers her or she represented, and the person was able to call out the names without hesitation.

After more than two hours of checking and confirming, the names of 69 representatives emerged, and a list of names was formally produced. However, “This is still a preliminary list. Some villagers have signed for their family members, but in some cases we may need to get individual signatures if a discrepancy comes to light.” According to Zhou Jie, the next step is to present this list to the village committee and the Nanyuan town government. “Once we have notified these entities, the villagers can represent them and uphold their rights and interests as the plan proceeds.”

Soon afterwards, the list of representatives, on a scarlet-bordered roll of paper, was posted on the wall at the village committee entrance, where public announcements are put up. However, this reporter was told by a villager that the paper was only up there for about ten minutes, before someone tore it down.

Three sealed letters lit the fuse

Zhou Jie and several other villagers related to this reporter the events that led up to organizing an election for new village representatives.

On 07-20, the Shiliuzhuang villagers received a sealed letter from the village committee,  stating that a plan to demolish the village and move the villagers to replacement housing had been formulated and approved by the Fengtai district government, and that in a few days the village representatives would vote on it. This was the first letter.

“There was nothing about where we would move to, and nothing about compensation –just that soon the village would be demolished.  With so few details, how could we take it seriously?” The villagers were indignant.

On 07-21, the village committee gave the villagers information about the compensation plan. For the village homesteads, the rate was 8000 yuan per square meter.  The villagers were very dissatisfied: this was below the national standard rate. They objected to the village committee, but the committee said there was nothing that could be done about it.

On 07-24 the village committee convened a meeting, to mobilize the villagers to begin the search for new housing. In the meeting the villagers were told they had three months to finish moving out of their homes.

On 07-25, the village assembly convened a meeting. Several hundred villagers rushed into the meeting, and made the demand to to have a new election for village representatives. “First of all, we do not agree with the demolition and relocation plan. Second, we do not believe the current village representatives can accurately reflect our wishes, because we have not elected them ourselves.”

On 07-26, the villagers received the second sealed letter from the village committee. It stated that the Shiliuzhaung village  rural-urban unification plan had already been examined and approved by the Fengtai district government. Many villagers assembled at the entrance to the village committee compound, requesting again for there to be a new election of village representatives, and asking for the village committee to release more details about the plan. But they received no response.

On 07-27, some 500 villagers went to the Nanyuan town government office, demanding the right to a new election.  The town replied that they would give them an answer by Friday (07-30).

On 07-29, the villagers received the third sealed letter. This one was an apology. It stated, “ Due to a  careless error in printing the plan, the word ‘draft’ was omitted. For this, the village committee expresses its regret to everyone.”

The villagers were infuriated by this excuse. “It is understandable that anyone could make this kind of mistake. The problem is,  the day after the mistake was made the plan was released, and at that time they told us, the plan was fixed and could not be altered, now how could that be true if it was really only a draft?” Saying one thing and doing another, that is not just mere carelessness, that is trying to trick us. They should tell us in detail what is going on.” The next day the villagers went to the Beijing City Complaints Office, and, “the person at the Complaints Office proposed to us that the villagers elect their own representatives.” Two days later, the villagers began to hold their own election, resulting in the list of newly elected representatives, signed and sealed by all.

On 08-02, once again visited the Beijing City Complaints Office, bringing the signed list giving the results of their election. However, the list was declared inadequate, because the requirement was that every signature had to be in the individual’s own handwriting, but on the list some people had signed for others. The villagers have to reexamine the list , and confirm each signature. This is where things stand for now.

What is the problem with the Shiliuzhuang village demolition plan?

This reporter acquired a copy of the plan, which comes to six pages printed on a paper size that is about half of A4, and describes the compensation and replacement housing options.

First, the compensation. It states that those who choose to move out and purchase replacement housing, will get 8000 yuan per square meter for their homestead. 

“According to the Beijing City Compensation Stipulations, homesteads within the third and fourth ring should command 8600 to 112000 yuan. We do not know where this figure of 8000 comes from. Can we find a second village in Beijing with a similar location to ours? Surprisingly. this compensation does not even reach the national minimum standard. ” Indeed, the replacement housing, to be built near the old village site, will be served by three subway lines, the Number 5, the Yizhuang line, and the Number 10 extension to be completed in 2012.

Second, resettlement. Those who conform to the conditions and vacate their homesteads will get 45 square meters per person in replacement housing. If they choose a residence with more area, it cannot exceed 8 percent of the original allotted amount. [Although not specified here, presumably the 45 square meters would be probably be purchased at reduced terms below the market rate].

“Beijing City clearly stipulates that every villager should receive 50 square meters of replacement housing, but for us there is only 45.” The villagers don’t understand. “We are not making this up. If you compare to nearby Dahongmen village, they received 10 thousand yuan per square meter for their homesteads (compared to 8 thousand), and bought replacement housing at [a below-market rate of] 3800 yuan per square meter.”

The villagers did a calculation: if here is a 100 square meter homestead in Dahongmen and one in  Shiliuzhuang,  and the family living in it relocates and buys a 100 square meter residence in replacement housing, than, comparing the compensation plans, the Dahongmen village family ends up with 570,000 more yuan in cash in the end. All the details were clearly laid out in a chart.

Further, this reporter found that market-priced housing in the Shiliuzhiang village area goes for  more than 20,000 yuan per square meter. 

In the compensation plan, this reporter found there are a number of awards, subsidies and bonuses that will be paid to those who agree to move.  Listed are the following: an award of 5000 yuan per household for those who move out in advance,  80,000 yuan per household for those who cooperate with the project,  a moving subsidy of 20 yuan per square meter,  300 yuan to move electrical service,  235 yuan to move telephone service, 400 yuan for air-conditioning service,  a 30,000 award for not interfering with the construction, 1000 yuan per month for expenses per person while waiting to move in for up to two years, 1000 yuan per square meter for assisting in the focal-point village transformation project, and a subsidy of 10 percent of the price the village family pays for their replacement housing. 

“Putting aside the issue of whether those subsidy amounts are large or small, for us the crux of the matter is that if we refuse to move out, the village committee will take our homesteads away from us. ” In the plan, it states that those who refuse to comply with the plan will have their homesteads  reclaimed and seized by the village committee. Specifically, “ the villagers who have moved out in compliance with the plan, have [as a bloc] the authority to seize the homesteads of those who are resisting and keeping the project from moving forward.  For those whose homesteads are reclaimed by the village, all the awards and subsidies will be cancelled.”

A fundamental reason why the villagers object to the plan, is that they are worried about what sort of income and livelihood they will have in the future. 

The villagers have always seen land as the source of their livelihood.  In actuality, the villagers in urban villages like Shiliuzhuang already lost their land some time ago.  This reporter found that at present the villagers’ income comes from three sources: renting out rooms, dividends from village investments, and odd jobs. However, renting rooms to the migrants who far outnumber the villagers is the principal source of income. (As for dividends: in the year 2000, Shiliuzhuang village underwent a revolution in their collective economy system.  Village assets were invested in a corporation, and the villagers became shareholders, getting a monthly dividend when there were profits,  of some 650 yuan a month.)

“In our current situation, we are able to make a living,  but there is nothing in the plan about how we will make a living after we move.” So said a 40 year-old villager in some despair. This reporter has found that if a village family has a 100 square meter homestead, they can rent out six rooms at 300 yuan per month,  amounting to 1800 yuan, which is half, or more than half their total income for the month.  “We don’t have other skills. Sometimes we make a little money driving a car, as an unofficial taxi. Rentals is really the long-term, regular income that we rely on to live.  If our homes are demolished, and we have no rooms to rent, we will have no steady long-term income.”

As for rental income, it is closely connected to the so-called “non-conforming buildings” problem. To add more rooms to rent, the villagers have built additions that take over parts of the alleys or sidewalks, or they have built upper stories on their homes. The villagers do not deny this, but they also have given up on the hope that compensation they eventually get will take the place of the income they now enjoy. “We do not intend to obstruct, we support the government’s actions. We only think the compensation plan is not rational. With inadequate compensation, and no rooms to rent, how are we going to live in the future?”

Registered permanent residences are also a complicated problem

Because of the acceleration of urban development, the villagers lost more and more of their land to various industrial projects, and the building of the subway. Subsequently, their  household registry changed from rural (agricultural) to an urban registry. But, as previously mentioned, the villagers received dividends from a village joint-stock company. This company was structured for shareholders with an agricultural household registry, as urban residents, the villagers lost their connection to it. Therefore the company is being dissolved and the shares distributed,  with each villager getting a final amount depending on the length of time they had been in the company, among other factors.

“Now I have only income from rentals, I no longer get dividends,” Ms Li told this reporter.  Due to construction of the Number 5 subway in 2008, Ms Li was one of approximately 900 villagers who lost their land and transferred to urban residency. At that time, she received a payment of 80,000 yuan (11,900 dollars) as a pay-off from the joint-stock company. “This sum represents the end of monthly payments and yearly dividends which I no longer receive. Technically, I am no longer a Shiliuzhuang villager. However, in the demolition and relocation that is going on now, the villagers still have village representatives, but we, who changed residency already, have no one to represent us  and negotiate with the government concerning the demolition problems.”

Ms Li said she is now an urban resident, but her husband still has an agricultural residency. “If I ask the village representative for advice, what  advice can I get in our situation? During the relocation, do I revert to my husband’s status as one-half of our household?”

This reporter has discovered that Shiliuzhuiang was originally a village of 6000 residents, but 4000 have already changed over to urban residencies.

The disorderliness in the household registry system is not limited to Shiliuzhuang, but is a problem in most urban villages, with many cases of family members with different household registry status. Villages are administered jointly by the neighborhood committee office and the township government [responsible for groups of villages], and they have different sets of regulations and jurisdictions.  The neighborhood committee is responsible for transferring people to new registries, while the township has authority over the land and buildings.

In ny case, the villagers are worried that they will lose more than they will gain.

konjaku: the villagers find their plan wanting when compared to the national standard, which is referred to variously in this article as the “national policy stipulation” 国家政策规定, the “national price” 国家价格,  and the “(lowest possible) national standard” 国家的最低标准.

konjaku: The villagers presented the government with their petition for new village representatives to represent them 2010-08-02, and the government sent it back on a technicality.  Despite that this reporter seemed ready to take the villagers’ side and document their political activity, at this point reporting in the mainland Chinese press on the Shiliuzhuang village situation ends. However, accounts from overseas sources in 2012 show that after two years resistance had hardened and finally the authorities proceeded with forcible demolition of the homesteads of those holding out.

Villagers refuse to move out of their homes — their land is confiscated for right of use by the state

http://www.bjnews.com.cn/news/2012/06/22/206111.html

2012-06-22

Shiliuzhuang village representatives assembly has passed a resolution to confiscate the land of those village households resisting eminent domain (“nail houses”).

New Beijing News ,Reporter Ma Li

Yesterday,  the Shiliuzhuang village assemble convened and passed a resolution to confiscate the land of the few remaining houses that have not cooperated and caused the process to be at a standstill. The villages are relocating to replacement housing located between the third and fourth rings. 

According to the village general party branch secretary Xu Wanchao, since the village urban transformation and compensation plan was announced on 2010-09-10, the village households have been gradually persuaded to move,  and at present 1040 households have signed contracts, 91.4 percent of the total. But there is a group of villagers who refuse to move. 

Xu Wanchao said, “Some villagers hope that if they hold out more money will be offered them. This has already had a negative effect on the lives of other villagers, because construction of replacement housing has been delayed. To safeguard the interests of the thousands of other villagers, the decision was made to conclude the situation of the hold-outs. All of us want to move to the new housing as soon as possible.” The representive assembly has now instructed the village committee to reclaim the homesteads, according to the legal reason that these homesteads are on village collective land.

Yesterday the village committee took the villagers on a field trip to look at the replacement housing, which is near Puhuangyu Road. The exterior is being finished, the prediction is that the villagers can move in early next year.

Shiliuzhuang villager Sun Shuangyan attempts to commit suicide by drinking pesticide at the local police station

2012-07

http://wqw2010.blogspot.com/2012/07/blog-post_2244.html

photo: the site of demolished Shiliuzhuang village

photo: Shiliuzhuang villagers about to go to walk in Tiananmen Square.

(Reported by Weiquan [Defending rights movement] staff Zhang Cheng, Son Yu) On 2012- 07-06,  many Shiliuzhuang villagers went to Tiananmen Square to protest the forcible demolition of their homes, and were taken into custody by the police. On 07-08, villager Sun Shuangyan, having given up all hope,  attempted to commit suicide by swallowing pesticide at the Nanyuan police station, to make her death an act of resistance against the stripping away of the villagers’ rights. She was rushed to the 307 hospital in critical condition, and is at present receiving treatment. 

On 07-04, at 4 in the morning before dawn, an organized group of over 500 people wearing the same black clothes and carrying long and short sticks, burst into Shiliuzhuang village, forced open the villagers’ anti-theft gates, cut off the electricity, cut off internet reception,  and smashed security cameras. They dragged away Zhou Jie, a sixty year old mother, injuring her. Her property inside the house, worth several 100 thousand yuan, disappeared. Other villagers met the same treatment, and forcible demolition of their homes. Zhou Jie went more than ten times to the local police station to report the incident. but the police never came out to investigate. Many villagers were injured as their homes were being destroyed. 

On 07-08, Zhou Jie, whose home had been demolished, gave a news interview exposing the treatment the villagers had received. On 07-09, at 5 AM before dawn, unknown persons came to what was left of her house and, in revenge, broke apart whatever remained, smashing it down to pieces of rubble. Fortunately they missed some of her furniture which was already buried under the ruins of the house. The village committee broadcast threats, accusing Zhou Jie of treason. 

2012-07-20

https://www.rfa.org/cantonese/news/beijing_demolition-07202012101356.html

Shiliuzhuang villager Mr Zhou told this reporter that a group of 500 people, including members of the criminal underworld,  was mobilized by the authorities to attack the village. They came to the village before dawn, sealed off all the entrances, and targeted five houses for demolition. Those who resisted were beaten and removed from the scene on stretchers.

Mr Zhou said, “One of these was Zhang Yurong. The assailants used a fire extinguisher  to spray him and his wife through the window of their house. They were removed,  still covered in the white substance, and their house was demolished. Both were beaten up, and needed to be carried away on  stretchers. and were later arrested by the police.

Another victim was Deng Ruyong. Deng faced off the attackers with gasoline, causing them to pause, but in the end he was subdued, and bundled into a police car. The three are still confined in the police station.

Villagers have refused to sign contracts because the compensation rate offered is too low. One after another, they have seen their houses demolished, and they have been forced to live in the streets, without any shelter. Many of these are old people. 

Mr Zhou said,  a case that has particularly affected people is the Guo’s. Mr Guo is 76, his wife is 68. Their house was demolished and all of their property taken away by the attackers, now they have nothing. They spend the cold nights curled up on the street corner near the village entrance. 

When the Guo’s house was being demolished, Ms Guo called Emergency (110) for help, but the police said it was the action of the government authorities and did nothing to intervene.  Since then the anonymous forces have come back twice and demolished more houses. Since the police do nothing, the villagers feel utterly helpless.

Since Sun Shuangyan attempted suicide by drinking pesticide, for two weeks she has been in the hospital, and is not yet out of danger. A doctor indicated that since she drank a large amount, there has been severe damage to her organs. Mr Zhou believes that if the situation continues, other villagers may feel compelled to take the same drastic step.

To this reporter’s inquiries the Fengtai government office refused to give any response, and the village committee has not returned any phone calls. 

A number of netizens have commented on Sina and Weibo that there are millions of yuan riding on the demolition of the village which will ultimately profit government officials, and for that reason they are flagrantly engaging in this forcible demolition in such a manner.  Early on ten villagers who had lost their homes went to Tienanmen Square and handed out protest leaflets. They were arrested and detained for seven days before being released.

photos:

http://blog.sina.com.cn/s/blog_5d6c9c2a0101359b.html

 https://www.boxun.com/news/gb/china/2013/02/201302151440.shtml  

From 2012-04-27 to 08-07, the Shiliuzhuang villagers’ homes were forcibly demolished, and the ground cleared of all remaining rubble. The villages had resisted, and protested by all means possible, to no avail. 

To accomplish this, the village committee, township government, and the demolition company, employed persons from the criminal underworld and loiterers, to go into the village and threaten the villagers, managing to force some of them to sign unfair contracts and vacate their homes. Those who resisted were beaten up,  locked up, and abused while in custody.

In the end, some villagers, desolate about the loss of their homes, continued to appeal their case with the higher authorities,  while wandering homeless in the streets. They joined the masses of  people who had come from provinces from all over to the capital to plead their cases. For once,  there was the rare sight of home-grown Beijingers in this assemblage of petitioners. In the end, these lovers of their native city were thrown into the barracks where protesters often end up.

photo: the village demolition complete

konjaku: the above is an excerpt from a longer article that details the struggles of individual protestors. Now, the other narrative.

Putting into practice the principles for a good life, the Shiliuzhuang village replacement housing project wins the “Spacious Mansion Prize”

2019-01-02

http://k.sina.com.cn/article_5395425339_14197a83b00100jx48.html?from=estate&subch=

2014-11, the Shiliuzhuang village second-stage replacement housing construction went through its final check, and villagers can start moving in at the end of the month. This brings to a successful close the complete transformation of Shiliuzhuang village. Looking back over the process, Shiliuzhuang village went through a number of detailed efforts to reach this point.

From 2010-12 to 2014-10, under the leadership of Fengtai district and the township local government, 1.7 billion yuan was invested on a construction project of 380,000 square meters. The Beijing Jinrui Tongfang Development company was chosen by the government to build the project. The first stage, the Dingxiu Jingshi Homeland,  with 1600 residences, was completed 2013-06, and residents moved in. The second stage, the Dingxiu Jingyi Homeland,  and Dingxiu Jinrui Homeland , with 1700 residences, is now finished. This huge success was brought about by the confidence that the total transformation of the old village could be done in a timely manner.

Shiliuzhang village original appearance (photos)

The Beijing Jinrui Tongfang Development company took seriously their responsibility to provide for the residents the highest quality of life.  The buildings are all aligned north to south, and each section forms a complete set of all the services residents need.

The “Spacious Mansion Prize” is a national-level prize ratified by the State Council,  the most prestigious real estate development prize one can receive.  It takes into consideration livability, environment, economic factors, safety, durability, upkeep,  and building technology. After a rigorous inspection, on 2018-12-25, the Shiliuzhuang replacement housing project was one of the recipients of this prize.

http://house.ifeng.com/news/2014_11_24-50134883_0.shtml 

Tracing back the history of the village transformation:

2009-04 Shiliuzhuang was designated one of the fifty listed-up villages.

2010-06-30, the ground-breaking ceremony was held to lay the foundation for replacement housing.

2010-12-17 Construction on the first stage of the project, the Dingxiu Jingshi Homeland, began. With 1600 residential units, this would improve the living conditions of some 4800 villagers.

2011-11-29 The effort to have villagers sign agreements to buy replacement housing and move out of their homesteads begins. The compensation plan and replacement purchasing plan strictly follows the stipulations in the 2010-09-10 village assembly eighth session second convocation document.

[note: the plan the villagers were dissatisfied with was issued 2010-06. Whether this plan is in any way a revision of the previous plan is uncertain]

2012-10-15 construction begins on the second stage of replacement housing, Dingxiu Jingyi Homeland,  and Dingxiu Jinrui Homeland. With 1700 residences, this will solve the housing problems of some 5000 villagers.

2013-05 the first stage, the Dingxiu Jingshi Homeland is complete. All the utilities are hooked up to every unit, and the exterior gardens are finished, it is ready for villagers to move in. All during this month the villagers are coming in to inspect the new residences. 

2013-06-16 the Dingxiu Jingshi Homeland welcomes residents to move in. This is the first listed-up village in Fengtai district to have reached this significant step in the process of village transformation–a highly significant event.

2014-04-26 The Shuangshiyi residential district was formed to replace the village committee and become the new administrative entity through the former villagers, now as urban residents, will have the autonomy to form a new organization and govern themselves.

2014-10 the second stage of replacement housing,  Dingxiu Jingyi Homeland,  and Dingxiu Jinrui Homeland, is completed. The process of handing over units to residents begins.

The residents of replacement housing have clean running water. A new vacuum technology system brings the water through pipes directly to their homes, without the need for storage tanks [replacing the older system of pressurized pipes that sometimes did not operate well enough to get water to the upper floors of buildings].

Traffic is also being improved by the building of major roads in the area.

The development has various automated operating systems. The complex has a local network server which connects to the internet. It has an entrance checkpoint, video monitoring,  an automated metered parking system, a heat metering system for the buildings, and a sophisticated security system with surveillance cameras, that signals the police if an alarm is tripped.

The heating system: 2014-11, the heating system was inspected, and the pipes cleaned. On 11-15 the system was turned on. Residents of the second stage housing will be able to adjust their own room temperature, and will pay according to their usage.

Parking: an automated parking barrier gate records all cars that enter and leave. The entering car is issued a ticket and the driver pays upon leaving, all done without an attendant. This system also increases public security, since there is a record of every car. The first-stage housing has 273 parking spaces above ground and 705 in the 3000 square meter underground parking garage. The second stage has 374 above, and 904 in the 3000 square meter underground parking garage. There is an average of .7 cars per resident.

The garden area is planned to give people many opportunities to  meet and interact. As the villagers have become urban residents, they need even more an open space in which to come into contact, to stroll, to play games, to have rest and relaxation. There needs to be facilities for pre-school children and for older children, including slides, see-saws, etc. For adults, space for individual exercise and for group exercise. Synthetic resin is applied to the ground of play areas, as a safety precaution.. There are many benches around the play area for those adults watching the children, providing another opportunity to socialize.

A new home, a new life. After relocating the villagers must discard old habits and learn new ones. They need to sort their trash and try and reduce carbon emissions, consider how to live with environmental awareness.

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The future of Shiliuzhuang village

The transformation of Shiliuzhuang village involves an area of 66 hectares [approx 140 football fields] involving 2000 households, more than 6000 people in total. The total investment in the project is 7.7 billion yuan, of which 1.7 billion yuan was slated for the replacement housing. The other 6 billion yuan is for [unspecified] “first class development.” This project is part of the comprehensive development of southern Beijing, in which a one-million-square-meter new city is being built.  It consists of 460,000 square meters for mixed residential development (including public housing), 280,000 square meters for replacement housing, (not including the construction of 100,000 square meters underground for subway lines and civil air defense shelters), 110,000 square meters for retail businesses, and 150,000 square meters for traffic, education, and medical facilities. This involves turning village collective land and village homesteads into state property, to be developed by stages into a new urban entity.

First stage:

Dingxiu Jingshi Homeland 顶秀金石家园

Second stage:

 Dingxiu Jingyi Homeland 顶秀金颐家园

Dingxiu Jinrui Homeland 顶秀金瑞家园

Shuangshiyi residential district 双石一社区

Other sources:

English:

http://www.globaltimes.cn/content/725522.shtml

http://www.globaltimes.cn/content/722880.shtml

https://www.rfa.org/english/news/china/beijing-evictees-04112012105535.html

Chinese:

https://chinadigitaltimes.net/chinese/2012/10/维权网-北京石榴庄村委强拆民房，李焕君维权遭/

https://chinadigitaltimes.net/chinese/2012/07/维权网-北京丰台区石榴庄周杰等家凌晨遭遇强拆/

(Villager Zhou Jie’s house is forcibly demolished)

https://chinadigitaltimes.net/chinese/2012/07/自由亚洲-北京石榴庄数百人凌晨强拆-村民自焚抗/

(several hundred people enter before dawn and demolish houses –a villager incinerates himself)