A more livable place

Standing under a tall apricot tree along an open and bright hutong (alleyway) ranked among the "10 most beautiful streets in Beijing" in 2019, 64-year-old Ma Yusheng, a Tongzhou local who grew the tree, said the place was a mess several years ago.

"Cars couldn't come in, and the neighbors just emptied their trash at the hutong's entrance," Ma recalled.

Tongzhou released a three-year action plan on the reconstruction of backstreets and alleys in 2017, renovating buildings and public spaces, building parks and handy service facilities, as well as improving greening and the environment.

The district also renovated a total of 263,500 square meters of its old residential communities in 2019 and reconstructed 58-km-long water supply pipelines in those neighborhoods.

"It's beautiful outside and warm inside, and we have an intelligent access control system now," said Liu Dexin who lives in the Tianqiaowan community.

The living conditions of Tongzhou residents have significantly improved one year after the control plan for the sub-center's development was implemented, so was the ecological environment.

The region saw its average PM2.5 density drop to its historical low of 46 micrograms per cubic meter in 2019 as emissions of vehicles and production were reduced and dust pollution was controlled. The water quality of 11 rivers and 101 small ponds in Tongzhou was improved.

Tongzhou also finished afforestation of 3,000 hectares last year, raising its forest coverage to 33 percent.

The sub-center had introduced branches of well-recognized schools and hospitals in Beijing, along with several international ones, and opened 13 new kindergartens in 2019.

"It's quite convenient for me to see a doctor here," said Wu Wenxin, lying in bed waiting for surgery at the Beijing Friendship Hospital the next day.

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