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Having suffered for more than 40 years from dirt, disorder and noise of coal trains, 78-year-old Gao Guangtian will finally enjoy an apartment with his own toilet for the first time in his life.
Looking out the window of his old shanty house, a number of new buildings will soon be completed. Gao and his neighbors will live in apartments with not only their own toilet but tap water and a gas pipeline.
The Zhanqian community, in Longshan district of Liaoyuan City in northeastern China's Jilin Province, used to be mess, with the ground covered with garbage and weeds. Plastic bags and old newspapers were used to patch up holes and cracks in roofs and fences.
The community has over 700 households, who have never called their houses "home".
Gao's old home is only five meters away from the railroad track. He has suffered from noise and a shaking house for the last four decades. His house has cracks and leaks water on rain days.
His new home is a result of China's nationwide project to rebuild its shanty towns so residents in communities like Zhanqian, most of them industrial workers, can live in apartment buildings.
The reconstruction of slums is a worldwide problem, as a report by the UN Human Settlements Programme said that in 2010 over 827 million people live in low-income areas, or slums, nearly one quarter of the world's population.
The large-scale shanty town rebuilding project was first initiated in neighboring Liaoning Province in 2004, while it was in 2008 that the scheme was extended on a nationwide scale. Up to 2012, a total of 12.6 million households living in slums have been relocated and 7.5 million of them have moved into new apartments.
Gao, a former bench worker, always dreamt of a new home but could not afford one with his pension of 1,800 yuan (300 U.S. dollars) a month. Now he is calculating how much he will spend on decorating.
The shanty town project in Liaoyuan is a typical one in China.
Thriving with its coal mines in the early 20th century, the city accommodated its citizens most of them industrial workers, who built houses from the 1950's in response to the state's call of putting production ahead of enjoying life.
In the early years after its founding in 1949, the people's republic started from the edge of economic collapse and suffered a period of hardship, so the country paid more attention to production rather than improving living standards.
Before the large-scale urban renewal project, over 60 percent of urban residents in Liaoyuan lived in shanty towns. Life in the slums was one that was shrouded with heavy smog in winter and neighbors having to wait in line to use a toilet in temperatures of minus 30.
Li Qing, head of the administration center for low-income houses of Liaoyuan, said up to now, 34 out of 40 shanty towns in the city have been reconstructed and residents lived in new apartments. The local government has invested more than 8 billion yuan (1.31 billion U.S. dollars), including 2.18 billion yuan of debt.
Jia Ruiqing, 74, is among those to benefit. He once lived in a 56-square meter shanty but now lives in a 70-square meter apartment.
Jia paid next to nothing for his new home. According to the compensation policy, he paid 750 yuan for each square meter from 56 to 60 square meters, and 1,100 yuan for each square meter above 60.
"I could never have bought a new apartment with my deposit. It was impossible for me to afford," said Jia. He paid only 15,000 yuan for his new apartment which has a market value of 280,000 yuan.
The urban landscape in Liaoyuan has changed dramatically, and therefore attracted more investors. The project has boosted dozens of related industries, including building materials, furniture and home appliances, making urban commerce flourish.
Fan Qiang, deputy head of Jilin provincial housing and construction department, said real estate investment in the province increased from 19 billion yuan in 2005 to 150 billion yuan in 2012. Most of the investment came about due to the renewal project.
The pace of the shanty town rebuilding project will be accelerated. The State Council, the cabinet, decided at a meeting in June that 10 million households in slums will be redeveloped in five years, including 3.04 million homes this year.
The State Council called for more policy support, financial input and more credit support from financial institutions, as well as land supply.
"A province with low fiscal revenue and relatively low level of economic development like Jilin can redevelop a large number of shanty towns, so I think it is possible that all slums nationwide can be redeveloped," said Fan.
