Govt aid gives people access to new housing

Jintianyuan, the residential complex where Bai lives, was built with financial aid from Shanxi and is part of the local government's ambitious project to renovate the vast shantytown in the city's Ganhezi township.

Once the project is completed, more than 1,300 households will get new apartments, said Wei Hua, head of the township.

The demolition of the shantytown and construction of new residential buildings will cost 150 million yuan, and Shanxi, for its part, will invest 82 million yuan, she said, adding that more than 1,100 families have moved into new homes.

"Though my old house had running water and access to electricity, the drainage system in the shantytown was awkward," said Abdurrahman Waslar, 48, who also lives in the Jintianyuan complex.

"The new apartment is much more convenient when it comes to water, electricity and hygiene conditions. Moreover, better living conditions will help my daughter prepare for the national college entrance exam."

Abdurrahman said there are two more Uygur households, one Kazak family and one Hui family in the unit where he lives, and all of his neighbors are thankful for the housing improvement project.

People who still live in shabby, narrow shanties said they are looking forward to moving into a new home.

"The old house is a little bit dangerous because it is very old," said He Minglan, a 64-year-old woman in Ganhezi.

"In the summer, we have to put up with the mosquitoes and hornets, and in the winter, we have to walk a long way to go to the toilet. As soon as the decorating of our new home is done, we'll move in."

In addition to the housing project, Shanxi also finances the construction of other public service facilities.

With the financial support of Shanxi, a set of new buildings was built for the Jinfu Bilingual Kindergarten. The buildings can hold about 800 children, said Ma Guilan, the principal.

"We had around 500 students when we used the old buildings and were unable to take on more children. Then Shanxi donated 8 million yuan, which helped us address the funding problem," she said.

Now the kindergarten has a spacious main building and a modern playground, Ma said, adding that another kindergarten in Fukang has also benefited from Shanxi's financial support.

Chen Chunming, an official in charge of managing Shanxi's aid programs in Fukang, said the province has allocated 214 million yuan to support public service projects in Fukang, and 26 government employees, teachers and medical workers from Shanxi are working here as part of the aid project.

Since 2010, Shanxi has assisted 40 public projects in Fukang, and 30 of them have been completed, Chen said.