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For years, Guo Yupei, 89, had to stand on his balcony on the second floor to greet his wheelchair-bound friend Li Junwei, who lives on the fourth floor of the building opposite a small garden.
Despite living in the same residential community in Beijing's Fengtai District, the veterans who have been friends for more than half a century did not meet face to face until newly-installed elevators freed them from home two years ago.
"Both of us should stay strong and take care," Guo said while meeting Li at their community garden.
Owing to their old age and inability to climb stairs, numerous elders are confined at home in the buildings that were built without elevator decades ago.
As one of the measures to expand effective investment, the Chinese government will begin the renovation of 39,000 old urban residential communities this year, and support the upgrading of plumbing and wiring, and the installation of elevators in old residential buildings.
DESPERATE NEEDS
Residential communities without elevators were mostly built in the last century. According to Li Shoulin, head of the China Elevator Association, before the 1980s, China had less than 20,000 elevators, with an annual production capacity of only 1,000 units.
Allocated by the lamp factory where her husband worked, the apartment on the fifth floor in Honglianzhongli community, Xicheng District, used to make Xu Jianmin proud.
"More than 30 years ago, it was the best neighborhood. The red building was very eye-catching," Xu recalled.
Over time, residents like Xu have grown old.
"Some of us are 90 years old already. Those even in good health are reluctant to walk downstairs due to the risk of tumbling down," said Xu, now 78.
Zhou Ying, Party chief of the Honglianzhongli community, said more than 30 percent of the community's 6,000-plus residents are aged 60 or above.
She remembers the excitement of residents when they saw vehicles and machines coming to lift elevators to their doorstep last year.
"Many onlookers on the site kept asking when it would be their turn to have elevators installed," Zhou said.
The population aged 60 or above on the Chinese mainland reached 253.88 million at the end of 2019, accounting for 18.1 percent of the total. In Beijing alone, the population of this group hit 3.7 million by 2019, official statistics show.
Although Beijing began promoting elevator installation in old communities in 2010, the project has encountered various obstacles such as opposition from ground-floor residents, funding shortage and high costs of power cable adjustment.
Among the 100,000-plus cell gates of old residential buildings that are eligible for installation, only 2 percent have been equipped, or are being equipped with elevators, said Zhang Baochao, an official with the Beijing Municipal Commission of Housing and Urban-Rural Development.
In order to solve the problems, the commission and four other government departments jointly released a manual on May 20, requiring at least two-thirds of the relevant households to support the installation of elevators, rather than a unanimous approval of the previous policy.
"For those who are worried the machines will block the daylight and are too noisy, we have had the elevators made of transparent glass and got them installed outdoor," said Liu Jia, deputy general manager of Fangditianyu, a local equipment installation company.
Sui Zhenjiang, vice mayor of Beijing, said apart from government funds, the city also encouraged private investors to participate in the installation and operations of elevators. In total, 1 billion yuan (141 million U.S. dollars) has been infused in elevator installation in the city's old residential buildings.
A LIFT IN ECONOMY
Elevator installation not only improves people's living conditions but also brings investment and job opportunities. Facing the impact of the novel coronavirus epidemic, China gives priority to stabilizing employment and ensuring living standards, and is resolved to winning the battle against poverty this year.
Housing official Zhang said elevator installation involves sectors in safety evaluation, architecture design, geological exploration, civil engineering and renovation, creating demand in building materials and construction industry.
Analysts predict that remarkable market demand will be generated for steel, concrete, thermal insulation materials and glass, creating employment opportunities and garnering profits.
In addition to elevator installation, renovating dilapidated communities will also involve upgrades in parking, water, power and heating facilities and property management, which would indirectly stimulate residents' consumption in apartment renovation and home appliances, said Pan Xiangdong, chief economist with brokerage firm New Times Securities.
"The opportunity has arrived. We surely don't want to miss it," said Ni Qilin, general manager of a Shanghai-based elevator company.
(by Xinhua writers Lyu Qiuping, Li Bin and Guan Guifeng)
