The first "self-demolishing and self-built house", trapped in the "last meter"

In the past decade, due to the conflict of interest, the neighborhood relationship has become delicate, and the owners, contractors, and government departments have been involved in it, pulling a complex web. Replacing the real estate certificate as the "last meter" of this long-distance run is also another difficult portrayal of "self-demolition and self-construction" crossing the river by feeling the stones.

On September 15, a reporter from the Beijing News visited Building 5, No. 4 Huju North Road, which has been built for more than a year. Photo by Beijing News reporter Li Zhao

Wen 丨 Beijing News reporter Li Zhao

Editor丨Chen Xiaoshu

 Proofreader丨Lucie

Building 5, No. 4 Huju North Road, Nanjing, is a new two-story small building. The façade of coffee color and beige patchwork, and the two rows of clear glass windows above and below, reflect the blue sky and green trees, which is particularly quiet in the busy city.

This small building plays the role of a pioneer, and it is the first publicly reported project in the country to be self-financed by property owners to renovate dangerous houses, and was once publicized as a project to benefit the people. To this end, the government has set up a special work class, provided financial support and designated construction agencies, and the owners participate in all aspects of the link, and play the leading role through consultation on autonomy.

From being identified as a dangerous house in 2014, the owner applied for self-financing renovation, to May 2022, more than 20 owners moved into new homes - the story has not come to an end here.

One year after handing over the house, the title certificate still has not been obtained, and the owner of Building 5, No. 4 Huju North Road, has fallen into new worries. In the past decade, due to the conflict of interest, the neighborhood relationship has become delicate, and the owners, contractors, and government departments have been involved in it, pulling a complex web. Replacing the real estate certificate as the "last meter" of this long-distance run is also another difficult portrayal of "self-demolition and self-construction" crossing the river by feeling the stones.

Title deeds that have not been obtained for a long time

Early on the morning of September 15, 67-year-old Li Xiaoping and several neighbors came to Nanjing Gufang Building to "report the situation", and the head of the legal department of Gulou Real Estate Group Co., Ltd. received them and ushered them into the conference room as usual. As soon as he sat down, Li Xiaoping went straight to the subject, the property certificate of Building 5 at No. 4 Huju North Road was still not followed, and more than half a month had passed since the last time they came here for help.

After the renovation of Building 5, No. 4 Huju North Road, the building was changed from the original brick and wood structure to a concrete frame structure, and the service life was also updated, and it was naturally necessary to replace the new real estate certificate, but since the handover in May 2022, the owners have not obtained the real estate certificate, and the owners led by Li Xiaoping spontaneously organized themselves and maneuvered in various administrative departments.

Huju is at the entrance of No. 4 North Road. Photo by Beijing News reporter Li Zhao

The average age of the owners of this building is over 60, and they have their own urgent reasons for title deeds. Li Xiaoping and her husband live in the east of the city all year round, far from this house, there are ninety-year-old people in the family to take care of, she plans to sell this house; Room 210's youngest grandson went to elementary school last year, and according to the school district, he was supposed to attend Chibi Road Primary School, but the transfer was delayed due to the replacement of the real estate certificate, resulting in the child being assigned to another school with a lower level; Elderly owners are more worried, from application to approval to construction of the house, several elderly people in the building have died, there is no title deed, they are worried that the will transfer is a trouble.

At the conference table, everyone poured out bitter water with every word. The gray-haired Xu Jinghua is the oldest in this group, more than forty years ago, Xu Jinghua was an engineer at the Provincial Chemical Industry Institute, the unit was divided into this suite, the apartment type was not good, facing north, he married and had children in this suite and spent most of his life. After the old house was renovated, Lao Xu's apartment type improved and he had a south-facing room, but he was always unsteady in his heart.

"Before there was a meeting on the street, the reporter interviewed us to talk about the new house and new life, only when we get the title certificate can we really talk about happiness, don't you say?" Lao Xu spoke Nanjing dialect and spread his hands helplessly.

Sun Bing, who is in his fifties, nodded. Among the representatives of the owners here, Sun Bing did not say much, he is a native of Huai'an, he came to Nanjing in the early days, and now he has opened a repair shop, and now his son is getting married, and the woman's household registration is ready to move over, he has to be more attentive.

Li Xiaoping knew the reason why they resonated. Lao Xu Ti's street meeting, which Li Xiaoping also attended, was a forum for owners organized by the community in April this year, inviting local media in Nanjing, originally to publicize the owners of old houses moving into new homes and letting owners talk about happy life. ”

Li Xiaoping recalled that Lao Xu and Sun Bing were interviewed, and Lao Xu first affirmed the advantages of the house type and improved the ventilation of the room, and then changed the conversation to "but" and mentioned the issue of real estate certificates. The community leader turned to Sun Bing and concluded for him, "The son's marriage house is solved, and he can get married in this house, if this house is not renovated, the child cannot get married." Sun Bing didn't interject.

The final video report only captures the first half of the "but."

Qiu Zhiping is the youngest of the owners' representatives, he is an office worker, and he is also one of the owners who often accompany Li Xiaoping to run various administrative departments, "It is really not easy for us (Li Xiaoping) to run around as a lesbian, sometimes she cried when she said it uncomfortably, and people in their sixties are quite pitiful."

Qiu Zhiping, wearing a pair of glasses, took out a notebook to record, and he brought the topic back to the original point - where is the real estate certificate stuck?

The exterior of Building 5, No. 4 Huju North Road before renovation. Photo courtesy of interviewee

Aging small building

Building 5, No. 4 Huju North Road, is a two-story small building with some origins.

The chemical community of Jiangsu Province, where it is located, has a very advantageous geographical location. The community is close to the Inner Ring West Line, with Jiangsu provincial authorities to the east, Nanjing University of the Arts and other universities to the west, and only 200 meters away from the nearest Yunnan Road subway station.

The small building was born in the 50s of the last century, with a construction area of 1890 square meters. In the words of Yuyan, the advocate of Room 205, at that time it was a "top-fitting" building, with running water into the house, red lacquered wooden floors, and green brick and large tile houses, which were built by the provincial chemical industry institute for key workers, and lived leading cadres and senior talents such as chief engineers.

With the changes of the times, Xiao Lou has also aged. The walls of the stairwell are cracked and peeling, the wires are cluttered above the door, termites under the brick and wood structure empty the corners of the wall, and the sound insulation is not good.

Renovated the interior of Building 5, No. 4 Huju North Road. Photo courtesy of interviewee

Since then, the chemical industry has been restructured, housing reform has been implemented, conditional households have moved out, and the high-class family building with unlimited scenery has slowly become the oldest and worst living conditions in the surrounding old house. In 2007, Sun Bing's son wanted to go to school, and he took a fancy to this low-priced old house in the newspaper, and the transaction price was more than 6,000 yuan per square meter, nearly 3,000 yuan / square meter cheaper than the surrounding area.

In 2013, the main road bridge in the west of the city was restructured, perhaps the viaduct blasting gave the last blow to the five buildings, and cracks appeared in the façade of the small buildings, and the residents did not dare to live, and reported to the relevant departments, and a professional team conducted a dangerous house appraisal.

Zhang Yuyan recalled that the professionals who came to the appraisal were standing on the second floor, standing with their legs apart and shaking vigorously, and they could feel the shaking of the floor, "It's very dangerous." "In 2014, Building 5, No. 4 Huju North Road, was identified as a Class C dangerous house.

The "Dangerous House Identification Standard" divides the danger of housing into four levels of ABCD, of which grade C and D are called "dangerous houses", and grade C refers to the bearing capacity of part of the load-bearing structure that cannot meet the requirements of normal use, and local dangerous situations occur, constituting local dangerous houses.

The risk of dangerous houses is nothing more than three ways: reinforcement, renovation and demolition. As the scale of shed demolition in various places becomes smaller, the demolition of 5 buildings looks far away; While the brick and wood structure house has a service life of only 50 years, the design and construction standards are low, the load-bearing components are seriously damaged, and the reinforcement does not seem to change the essence, Zhang Yuyan has a bold idea - the owner self-financed the renovation in situ.

Zhang Yuyan, who works in government agencies, knows that if he wants to get things done, he must have the support of policy documents. He rummaged through all the documents he could find and found a basis for rural renovation in the Nanjing Housing Safety Management Measures at the time, and he thought that "maybe it could be implemented in the same way as in rural areas."

Zhang Yuyan naturally became the promoter of this plan. Since 2014, Zhang Yuyan has repeatedly traveled to the housing planning departments at the municipal and district levels, but because there are no precedents and regulations, and it involves surveying and mapping, design and other fields, the staff has studied with him, and there has been no follow-up. A person in the system "instructed" Zhang Yuyan, "Since the district said that there was no precedent, ask the district to report to the city, and the higher-level department will reply to the lower-level department." ”

This trick really works. In 2014, the former Nanjing Municipal Commission of Housing and Construction approved the renovation of Building 5 at No. 4 Huju North Road in accordance with relevant regulations.

However, this can only be regarded as a glimmer of light at most, and since then, the approval authority has changed, the submitted information has been returned several times and asked for updates, Zhang Yuyan is like Sisyphus, the stone pushed up again and again fell back, and he felt that his mental state was on the verge of collapse.

The real turning point came from September 2019, when the "Nanjing Special Work Plan for the Elimination of Urban Dangerous Housing" was launched, and the Gulou District Government set up a special class for the dangerous housing treatment project in Building 5, No. 4 Huju North Road, led by the Gulou District Housing Security and Real Estate Bureau, with the participation of multiple departments such as district finance, urban management, public security, and construction.

In July 2020, the Nanjing Municipal Bureau of Planning and Natural Resources issued an administrative licensing decision. The moment he got the administrative permit, 67-year-old Zhang Yuyan burst into tears at the scene, and 6 years passed since he was identified as a dangerous house.

In 2020, Zhang Yuyan, as the owner's representative, received a construction project planning permit. Photo courtesy of interviewee

Autonomy, Interest and Consensus

In fact, this is not a story where foolishness can write the end with perseverance, as an autonomous project, the difficulty of applying is only the first step, and it is also difficult to obtain the consent of all owners. Although the government has set up a special class, all links need the owner's nod and sign before the project can move forward.

There are 21 self-owned property owners and 5 property rights units in Building 5, No. 4 Huju North Road, Zhang Yuyan initially proposed the idea of "self-demolition and self-construction", but did not get unanimous consent, some people wanted to ask the government for compensation instead of renovating at their own expense, but Zhang Yuyan felt that it was not feasible, "Before the bridge was changed to the tunnel, the 5 buildings naturally decayed, and the causal relationship between the identification results of the dangerous building and the nearby engineering construction is difficult to confirm." ”

The neighbors persuaded each other that "there is no way to sell a dangerous house" and "spending a little money can make the house appreciate in value" finally did the ideological work and passed the first hurdle. Yang Shuang, deputy director of the urban management department of Ninghai Road Street, recalled that the result of the intention communication was "100% of the owners did not object." ”

Zhang Yuyan organized a six-member working group as a decision-making coordinator, consisting of a fund management team, a design team, a safety supervision team and an outreach team, and all households were included in this structure for division of labor. Mr. Zhang also engraved a special seal for the working group, but he denied that he was the leader of the working group, preferring to see it as a flat organization that consulted together. However, in the hearts of many owners, Zhang Yuyan has put in much more energy than others, and is the de facto leader, and they call him "Zhang Gong".

The owners meet regularly to discuss progress, and as the design drawings of the new house become more detailed and conflicts increase, everyone expects to get the most out of this push, and the dispute is not only between neighbors, but even the opinions of family members are not unified.

In 2020, the owners of Building 5, No. 4 Huju North Road, met together to discuss the drawing design. Photo courtesy of interviewee

For example, some owners proposed that the original square load-bearing column appeared to be small in space and needed to be replaced; Some owners have asked whether they can dig down a basement to be owned by the residents on the first floor; Some people are dissatisfied with why the second floor can have an attic, but the first floor does not; Some people hope that the government will arrange the transition during the renovation period, and some even want to directly expand the size of the apartments.

Zhang Yuyan had to reiterate the clear requirements put forward by the Nanjing Municipal Bureau of Planning and Resources for the renovation of their dangerous houses: the renovated houses must adhere to the original site, original area, and original height for renovation and risk elimination, and the "three original principles" have dispelled the minds of some owners to a certain extent.

Of course, the core controversy of all contradictions still points to money. The "Nanjing Urban Dangerous Housing Risk Management Special Work Plan" clearly states that in terms of financial subsidies, the cost of renovation of C-level dangerous houses is shared according to the ratio of 2:2:6 between municipal and district finances and property owners, that is, the government subsidizes 40%, and the property owner pays 60%.

This is undoubtedly good news, but according to the feasibility study report of the renovation project, the estimated total investment price is 6,000 yuan per square meter, and the property owner should pay 3,600 yuan per square meter, which is much more than the 1,500 yuan estimated by the owners in privately looking for the design company four years ago, and some owners question.

"In addition to civil construction costs, there are also demolition, design, supervision and installation costs, many of which were not previously considered." Zhang Yuyan explained that for many owners with large apartment types, it is somewhat difficult for owners with a low income level to take out two or three hundred thousand at once.

Disgust quietly grew in these noises, and the spearhead was aimed at Zhang Yuyan. Among them, the loudest opposition is his door-to-door neighbor Jiang Baofen (pseudonym). Jiang Baofen was originally also a core member of the working group, Zhang Yuyan said, because the residents on the first floor are trapped in humidity all year round, the design concept he proposed is "downstairs overhead moisture-proof, upstairs ventilation and heat insulation", the first floor set 82 cm overhead moisture protection is bound to increase construction costs, which was fiercely opposed by the owners represented by Jiang Baofen, in addition to a series of disputes have made Zhang Yuyan feel "unable to go", the working group once stagnated.

After several owners' representatives persuaded Zhang Yuyan to return, Zhang Yuyan was reorganized, and Jiang Baofen was withdrawn from the working group and assigned to the design team.

On September 6, Zhang Yuyan showed reporters at home the paperwork materials prepared over the years to promote the renovation of dangerous houses. Photo by Beijing News reporter Li Zhao

divergence

In 2020, the government designated Nanjing Xiaguan Real Estate Operation Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Guanfang Company") as the agent to be responsible for the renovation, and the project payment was settled in a divided period. According to the construction area, Jiang Baofen's family needs to pay more than 200,000 yuan for the project, but only after the first payment of 60,000 yuan, Jiang Baofen is no longer willing to pay a penny.

A small number of owners who complained about Zhang Yuyan formed an alliance with Jiang Baofen, and despite the disparity in numbers, the owners of Building 5 at No. 4 Huju North Road split into two factions - the "pro-Zhang faction" and the "anti-Zhang faction".

In the midst of various frictions, the renovation project still advanced, relocation, demolition, construction, handover, and in May 2022, the owners got the keys to their new home in the spotlight of the media and moved into their new home with joy.

Zhang Yuyan said that Jiang Baofen pried the lock and forcibly lived in, and others had no way to take her, "After all, it is her home." ”

Yang Shuang, deputy director of the urban management department of Ninghai Road Street, told the Beijing News reporter that Jiang Baofen not only had differences with Zhang Yuyan, but also had contradictions with the agency construction unit. The expansion joint of the entire building is on the roof of Jiang Baofen's house. The so-called expansion joint refers to a structural joint set along the appropriate part of the direction of the construction joint of the building or structure in order to prevent cracks or damage to the structure due to climate and temperature changes (thermal expansion, cold contraction). Expansion joint is to divide the building components above the foundation such as walls, floors, roofs (except wooden roofs), etc. into two independent parts, so that the building or structure can be horizontally expanded and expanded in a long direction.

Jiang Baofen knew some engineering knowledge, insisted that the expansion joint would cause rain leakage and other effects to her family, and tried to negotiate with the agency construction unit not to pay or pay the balance less, but the agency told the Beijing News reporter that they had invited experts to demonstrate that the expansion joint would not affect Jiang Baofen's family, and the two sides did not reach an agreement.

The joy of moving into a new home did not last long, and the title deed became the "last meter" of this long tug-of-war. This time, Zhang Yuyan refused to "come out" again. In order to avoid some people saying that he "has no profit and can't afford to get early" to take advantage of it, after handing over the house, Zhang Yuyan deliberately decorated a little later than other owners, as for the real estate certificate, he is not in a hurry, it will be later.

But the owners who are in a hurry to sell their houses, transfer their hukou, and enroll their children are worried, and Li Xiaoping has become the main force in asking for real estate certificates, like Zhang Yuyan in the past, going around various administrative departments. The owners were frustrated, and someone wrote a joint letter asking Zhang Gong to "come back", but Zhang Yuyan made a request that more than 95% of the owners sign and agree before he is willing to consider it.

This is almost an impossible task. Over the years, because of conflicts of interest, neighbors have changed from having a harmonious relationship to thinking differently. The owners did not communicate well with the housing company, they tended to think that the agent construction unit had no motivation to apply for the certificate, and they wanted to force other owners to put pressure on Jiang Baofen to collect the outstanding project money, and the center of the contradiction vortex returned to the owner.

This summer, several local media in Nanjing reported on the issue of property certificates for Building 5 at No. 4 Huju North Road, and the owner mentioned in an interview that Jiang Baofen had not paid for the project so far, which was one of the reasons why the title certificate was difficult to obtain. At this point, the neighborhood was completely made public.

Yang Shuang obviously felt that Jiang Baofen's resistance was stronger, "In the past, we could talk to her for a few words, but now she doesn't even answer our phone." Yang Shuang said. The Beijing News reporter tried to contact Jiang Baofen several times, but received no response. A business owner close to Jiang Baofen also declined to be interviewed, "You ask the street about this." ”

"In fact, there is really no need to concentrate all the contradictions on Jiang Baofen, if the property rights certificate can be handled separately, and the owner who pays the money can get the property certificate, then there is no contradiction between other owners and Jiang Baofen, if Jiang Baofen must cooperate otherwise it cannot be advanced, the street can assist the owner to sue Jiang Baofen through judicial channels." Yang Shuang stressed, but now the problem of property rights certificate cannot be confirmed is the reason for Jiang Baofen.

The real reason

As for the real reason why the real estate certificate cannot be obtained, it is like a fog.

It started as a missing plan approval map. The real estate certificate is usually handled by the agent construction unit, according to the statement given by the housing closing company, the surveying and mapping should have been completed before the handover of the house, but it was "grabbed" by the owner in advance, which left hidden dangers. When applying for surveying and mapping afterwards, the real estate surveying and mapping department needed to survey and map the entire building according to the planning approval plan, and the person in charge of the housing company went to apply with the information, but found that a plan of the first and second floors stamped with the special seal approved by the Planning Bureau was missing.

At that time, a local media in Nanjing was paying attention to the matter, and the reporter followed the owner to run through multiple departments, and finally reissued the planning approval map, and the surveying and mapping could be carried out.

However, when the surveying and mapping department entered the site, it was found that Room 101 expanded the kitchen to occupy the common area, and after the relevant departments of the street coordinated the demolition, Jiang Baofen's family refused to allow the surveyors to enter the surveying and mapping, and fell into a dead end again.

After repeated communication among the owner's representatives, the surveying and mapping department agreed to bypass Jiang Baofen's house for surveying and mapping, but the surveying and mapping report could not be issued because the renovation of the dangerous house required a new house number.

A police officer surnamed Sun of the Ninghai Road police station in charge of this matter told the Beijing News reporter that although the five buildings were renovated in accordance with the "three originals" principle, the orientation of the rooms and the entry of the building were adjusted, the original four units were changed to six units, and the room number was also changed. ”

In this process, there are disagreements, some owners believe that after the residential address is revised, a series of documents such as household registration books and ID cards will be changed, which is bound to cause new troubles, hoping to retain the original house number. "I've talked to them a few times, but using a new house number won't cause trouble, we just need to open a certificate of the same address." Officer Sun said that in order to respect the residents' demands, he put the application form into the declaration materials and waited for the approval of the higher authorities.

On September 15, Li Xiaoping, Xu Jinghua and Qiu Zhiping discussed the issue of house numbers outside the Ninghai Road police station. Photo by Beijing News reporter Li Zhao

The housing company promised to bypass Jiang Baofen to apply for the property certificate for other owners who paid for the project, and in the communication with the owner, the project manager surnamed Wang said the real "roadblock" of the property certificate.

First, the new house number has not come down for a long time, and the surveying and mapping report cannot be issued; Second, the fire control acceptance has not yet been carried out, and the completion filing cannot be completed; Third, when it comes to problems such as living without prior inspection, the agent construction unit may face punishment and is currently applying to the higher department for exemption from punishment.

On September 15, Officer Sun replied to Li Xiaoping that the previous owner's application to use the original house number had been returned by the city bureau and was currently being processed in accordance with the new house number regulations. As for the fire protection issue, Manager Wang, the project leader of the housing company, explained that Building 5 at No. 4 Huju North Road was originally renovated in strict accordance with the "three originals" principle, but the fire protection of the houses in the past could not meet the current standards, such as the fire escape design standards, which made it difficult to pass the acceptance.

On the morning of September 20, still in the conference room of the Drum Room Building, Manager Wang had a new round of communication with the owner. This time, he brought the "Nanjing Urban Renewal Existing Building Renovation and Utilization Fire Protection Design Review and Acceptance Reform Implementation Plan (Version 2.0)", a document released in July this year, which clearly stipulates the "three originals" project.

The document points out that with the approval of the planning and resources department, the renovation shall be carried out in accordance with the "original site, original area, original height" and does not change the use function of the building, and it is indeed limited by conditions that it cannot meet the requirements of the current national fire protection technical standards for engineering construction, the transformation and utilization unit shall prepare a fire protection implementation plan, compensate for the performance of weak links, and shall not reduce and ensure the improvement and enhancement of the fire safety level of the building after renovation.

Following the good news, Manager Wang added that he was currently waiting for the new house number compiled by the public security department, but he gave the owner a preventive shot, and in the initial communication with the surveying and mapping department, the other party said that the surveying and mapping of Jiang Baofen's home had never been completed, which may lead to other owners' surveying and mapping reports not being sealed. ”

Can self-dismantling and self-construction be copied?

Now, everyone has entered a new round of waiting for the mapping report. Zhang Yuyan decided that after the results of the surveying and mapping came out, he would post a public announcement of his own situation in the community, "let others see if my family has secretly expanded the area." "In the past ten years", he needs to return his innocence.

As for the dispute between the agent and Jiang Baofen over the construction payment, Manager Wang said that although there was no agency construction agreement with Jiang Baofen, they signed a letter of commitment at the beginning, and the company may take legal measures in the future.

From applying for renovation to completing a new home, it's a long way out. In April 2021, Han Liming, member of the Standing Committee of the Jiangsu Provincial Party Committee and secretary of the Nanjing Municipal Party Committee, visited the renovation construction site of Building 5, No. 4 Huju North Road. At that time, Han Liming asked Zhang Yuyan a question whether this project could be copied, and Zhang Yuyan replied that it could be copied.

Zhang Yuyan often mentioned this dialogue to the media, but what he did not fully say at the time was that the key to replication is that people and institutional guarantees are indispensable. Relying on residents' independent renewal is inseparable from a strong promoter, but the promoter itself is just an ordinary resident, how to coordinate everyone's efforts to make it in one place? If there is no institutional guarantee, it is a "thankless" role, and it is difficult to succeed in the end, all of which requires mature supporting policies.

Dong Wenjun, general manager of Nanjing Yangtze River Urban Architectural Design Co., Ltd., mentioned in an interview with the media that the success of the project is inseparable from the government's attention and promotion, but it is impossible for every project to be headed by the director of the real estate bureau. He suggested that relevant departments can take this case as a special topic to study and explore a complete set of systems and working mechanisms. At that time, the property owner's self-financing project for the renovation of dangerous houses could have mature conditions for replication and promotion.

Qin Gang, deputy director of the Urban Construction and Renewal Committee of the Beijing Municipal Committee of the Democratic League and chairman of Yasong Chengmai, told the Beijing News reporter that Building 5, No. 4 Huju North Road, is a micro case of urban renewal, which is a very meaningful non-governmental exploration, reflecting the civic consciousness of consultation, mutual assistance, joint construction and co-governance. For a long time, many old and dangerous houses have relied on the government's large-scale demolition, which has not stimulated the enthusiasm of property owners or stakeholders, and is not conducive to the benign operation of urban renewal in the long run.

Qin Gang still has reservations about the current reproducibility of "self-demolition and self-construction", whether it is the previous lengthy application approval or the issue of property rights certificates, which shows the difficulty and complexity of this model. He believes that the renovation of dangerous houses involves many fields, which is almost difficult for property owners in the non-industry, and to form a set of replicable models, it is inseparable from the top-level design, and the government needs to issue specific standardized guidelines, and should also play a role in guiding and supporting to improve social governance capabilities.

In Zhang Yuyan's new home, the bookshelf in the attic on the second floor is printed with two poems, "The desert is lonely and straight, the sun sets on the long river" and "Always for the sake and not to be ignored, always walking without rest", he often uses these two poems to trek for more than ten years, like walking in a lonely desert, there is no precedent to draw on, relying on the belief of "always walking" to persist, the taste is only known to himself.

The bookshelf in the attic on the second floor of Zhang Yuyan's new home is printed with two verses, which is his feeling during the nearly ten years of trekking. Photo by Beijing News reporter Li Zhao

He looks forward to a perfect end to this experience as soon as possible, and hopes that Building 5, No. 4 Huju North Road, will truly become a mature sample for future renovations of dilapidated houses, but he also knows that it will be a long road.