Beijing will subsidize citizens who are willing to move out of the old city quarter and will give them preferential policies to help them buy new houses to decrease population density in the historical center.

The Beijing Times reported that the project comes with the municipal government's mass renovation and preservation program that covers 44 hutongs (alleyways), 1,474 courtyards and over 10,000 households living within the city's 2nd ring road.

Li Xiyan, an official with the Beijing Municipal Construction Commission, said residents living in courtyards that need renovation and repair could choose to move or stay, and those who voluntarily choose to leave will receive government subsidies and preferential policies.

Citizens that want to move out of the city center will take precedence of being absorbed into the city's housing guarantee system and will be provided with house-purchasing opportunities with priority.

Li reaffirmed that the renovation project in the old city must be carried out by the government and not real estate developers, as government wants to preserve the historical look of old Beijing and secure the interests of its residents.

Beijing's four central districts, Dongcheng, Xicheng, Chongwen and Xuanwu, are currently undergoing the largest ever renovation project since 1949, and the municipal government allocated a fund of 100 million yuan, or 13.3 million U.S. dollars, for repair work and relocation programs for residents.

 (CRI January 7, 2008)