URBAN villages across Shenzhen are coming under the sledgehammer in an array of renovation projects.

    Urban villages are usually defined by their narrow streets, squat, old apartment buildings and electric wires running haphazard between buildings. Low-income residents and those who first arrive in Shenzhen often call them home.

    The city is going to start renovations in Yuyi Village, Nanshan District, by the end of this year.

    The village is near the Dong-jiaotou Metro station in Shekou, opposite Shekou People’s Hospital.

    Yuyi Village signed a renovation contract with a developer in 2006 and gained approval from the city’s urban village renovation office in 2009.

    The developer began signing contracts for different renovation projects in 2010 and finished the legal legwork recently.

    Most of demolition work in the village has already been completed.

    The renovation project will help create 1,025 households and make 1,200 parking places when completed.

    (Zhang Qian)