EACH year, countless modern buildings go up in Shenzhen. This urban sprawl makes it easy for visitors and even residents to neglect the city’s urban villages. But if one pays careful attention to the road signs or uses Google Maps, more than 200 urban villages scattered across Shenzhen will be found.

    Villagers have highly complex feelings towards the place that has harbored several generations of their families. Urban villages offer cheaper rent and food so they attract more migrant workers. The villages have a reputation for being shabby, dirty and uncivilized. But since the city government has implemented measures to renovate the villages, visitors may be surprised by the cleanliness and comfort of the renovated communities. However, this also accompanies worries that urban village renewal projects will cause old houses and the local culture that goes with them to vanish. Some scholars have also pointed out that migrant workers will find it more difficult to rent a home as cheap housing disappears.

    (Tan Yifan)