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In a Beijing hutong, old roots hold firm amid renewal_我的网站

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    This photo taken on July 10, 2026 shows a view of Lanman Hutong in Beijing, capital of China. (Xinhua/Zheng Keyi)Just after six each morning, 63-year-old Chen Zhongyi unlatches the wooden door of a pigeon loft outside his home in Beijing's Lanman Hutong. Within seconds, more than 20 homing pigeons burst into the sky, circling above the grey-tiled roofs before fanning out across the city.
"That's when I feel happiest in the day," Chen said, his gaze following the birds as they fade from view.
For Chen, who has spent his entire life in this narrow alley, the pigeons are far more than a pastime. They embody a way of life that has long defined the character of Beijing's historic hutongs.
A city with over 3,000 years of recorded history, Beijing has constantly grappled with how to modernise without erasing its past. Lanman Hutong, tucked in the city's core, offers a compelling case study in urban renewal that honours neighbourhood memories while leaving room for the new.
OLD ALLEY, NEW LIFE
When Lanman Hutong launched a major renovation in 2018, Chen feared his hand-built pigeon loft, a fixture since 2013, might have to come down.
To his relief, the designers had other plans. "Pigeons are part of old Beijing's culture," they told him. "They should stay, and we'll upgrade the loft."
The birds were soon moved into a new wooden structure -- brighter, sturdier and better ventilated. "It wasn't just a new pigeon house," Chen said. "It told me that what we treasure can endure."
He was not alone in witnessing the change. Zheng Enqing, 78, who has lived in the neighbourhood for over three decades, recalled the alley's former chaos: cars crammed into every available space, pedestrians squeezing past.
Today, the rough pavement has given way to neatly laid grey bricks, and a nearby multi-story parking facility has freed the lane for foot traffic.
Yet for Zheng, the most telling improvements were those shaped by residents themselves.
When an outdoor air-conditioning unit began blasting hot air onto his prized grapevine, he raised it with the neighbourhood committee.
"They listened," Zheng said, noting that this responsiveness, for him, defined the entire renewal. The unit was moved to the rooftop and screened with a structure that blends with the historic surroundings.
"Our goal was to improve the environment while letting residents keep their way of life," said Chen Qinghong, planning manager at Beijing DeYuan Dade Real Estate Investment Co., Ltd., the project developer.
Chen added that over 100 consultation meetings were held with locals before and during construction, covering everything from parking to landscaping and public facilities.
"Urban renewal should not ask residents to adapt to redevelopment," said Song Jingyang, an official with the Beijing Municipal Commission of Urban Management. "Rather, redevelopment should adapt to the people."
A LIVING COMMUNITY
For planners, however, upgrading the physical fabric was only the first step.
In 2023, Lanman Hutong introduced a voluntary relocation program, letting residents decide whether to stay or leave. Vacant courtyards were then gradually opened to businesses and cultural ventures suited to the historic district's character.
By early 2026, 641 households in the Fayuan Temple Historic District, where Lanman Hutong sits, had opted for relocation, making room for 105 new businesses. Cafés, bookshops, restaurants and cultural studios have since taken root in centuries-old courtyards.
Zheng, who chose to stay, admitted that the newcomers have shifted his outlook. "At first, I thought cafés were only for young people. Now I believe we older residents should also embrace these changes," Zheng said.
He is also cheered by the growing number of young faces in the alley. "That's exactly the kind of change we want to see," he said.
Among them is 23-year-old Hu Feixiong, a graduate student at Beijing University of Civil Engineering and Architecture.
Earlier this year, Hu and his teammates moved into a youth entrepreneurship space in Lanman Hutong, where they began offering architectural cultural products, including layered refrigerator magnets inspired by Beijing's landmarks, directly to customers in a real neighbourhood.
"We only pay basic utility costs, yet we can meet customers, test our products and refine our ideas in a living community," Hu said. Rather than remaining on design sketches or screens, their creations now reach visitors face-to-face in one of Beijing's oldest quarters.
In this way, the city's architectural heritage endures not just through preservation but through the ingenuity of a new generation.
"It is the interaction among residents, businesses and the community that keeps a neighborhood alive," said Wang Mingjun, an official with the Xicheng District Urban Management Committee. "Urban renewal is not a one-off project. It is an ongoing process in which everyone has a role to play."
Official data show that since 2017, more than 5,200 backstreets and alleys in Beijing have undergone environmental upgrades, with resident satisfaction steadily rising.
That approach reflects a broader shift across China. In Jinfeng Town, southwest China's Chongqing Municipality, for instance, residents are pinning their hopes on ongoing renewal projects to raise living standards further.
Under the urban renewal plan for the 15th Five-Year Plan period (2026-2030), China aims by 2030 to build cities that deliver a high quality of life for all -- a vision that, in Lanman Hutong, is already taking shape.
。    中新社北京8月24日电 题：专家析两岸交流：多点回暖、韧性更强          　　中新社记者 李百加          　　2026年开年以来，两岸交流持续走暖。1至6月，两岸人员往来311.9万人次，同比增长22.1%，其中台胞来大陆285万人次，同比增长24.9%。

二 | 厦门大学台湾研究院两岸关系研究所所长唐桦近日接受中新社专访时介绍，回暖趋势在多点位体现。         　　半年多时间里，“首来”西进蔚为风潮。这一现象由陈之汉、钟明轩等台湾“网红”带动发酵，2026年持续扩散，尤其不少青年、“首来族”加入其中。

三 |                         　　唐桦分析，“首来族”愿意来到大陆旅行、交流，一方面是“网红”传递讯息，打破固有信息茧房；另一方面，台胞往来两岸享有更多便利，形成实实在在的吸引力。

四 | 在此过程中，不少“首来族”将见闻、经历发布至线上，形成良性循环。唐桦说，“这有助于推动两岸关系的民意基础朝积极方向发展。”          　　半年多时间里，寻亲故事重新涌现。台湾演员林典璋手持一纸残谱发布短视频，经网友接力，最终寻根至广东汕头澄海林氏家庙。台湾青年廖祥麟发布寻亲帖文，数小时内寻找到大陆亲人。

五 |          　　有别于数十年来多依赖熟人圈层、官方机构的寻亲方式，唐桦指出，当事人如今趋向于在社交媒体发布诉求，依靠平台扩散方式接续亲缘，呈现出主体年轻化、传播平台化、参与全民化的特点，“这一过程也让大众看见海峡两岸亲情重联的更多可能”。

六 |          　　半年多时间里，影视交流更趋活跃。《逐玉》《给阿嬷的情书》等大陆影视作品在台湾热度走高，围绕剧情的讨论、二次创作持续延伸。两岸影视业者在微短剧、电影等领域的交流互动也更加频繁。         　　大陆影视作品收获台湾民众喜爱，唐桦认为，最重要的原因是两岸在“生活内容、节奏，审美偏好和文化脉搏上共振”。大陆影视产业体量增长、题材供给多元，也催生许多贴合台湾观众文化需求的作品。

七 |          　　今年两岸影视合作热度提升，主要推动力来自大陆释放的政策利好。唐桦分析，大陆4月发布十项促进两岸交流合作的政策措施，其中涉及开放引进优质台湾影视内容、支持台湾业者多方式参与大陆微短剧创作，“大大降低了台湾影视人才进入大陆的门槛”。         　　半年多时间里，学术交流走向深入。

八 | 相较往年，两岸学者在各地研讨时，更多围绕和平统一等议题展开深入讨论。         　　在唐桦看来，这与台海形势变化密切相关。“大陆综合实力不断增强，中美关系呈现新的发展态势，统一的各方面条件在不断累积。”          　　她提及，中国社会科学院台湾研究所所长、全国台湾研究会副会长朱卫东8月上旬在江苏提出“统一三段论”分析框架，引发学界关注。“以此为代表的一批学术新观点，把统一从一个遥远的目标变成了可讨论的进程。”          　　唐桦观察，与官方、大型的交流活动相比，如今的两岸交流形态具有更强的自主性与韧性，“扎根民间、贴近基层的交流，或将成为未来一段时期两岸交往的常态。”(完) 【编辑:何颖】。

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Published on:16:21:41