Residents in Jinfeng Town of southwest China's Chongqing Municipality are banking on ongoing urban renewal projects to further improve their living standards, part of a broader national push to upgrade aging infrastructure.

The first phase of the urban renewal project includes the renovation of 22 buildings, involving more than 600 households. It aims to improve public facilities by adding 356 parking spaces, 50 charging piles and four age-friendly facilities, while expanding green space by 36,700 square meters. Other facilities, including municipal roads, flood control and drainage systems, and fire safety and security facilities, are also set for upgrading.

In Hangzhou, capital of east China's Zhejiang Province, renovation work in the Xiaoshan District is prioritizing housing improvements for young employees and workers employed under new business models.

To address issues such as leakage, mold and aging electrical wiring, the district is leveraging prefabricated interior decoration and green, low-carbon technologies to renovate public rental houses, rental apartments for talents and employee dormitories.

These projects align with China's grand roadmap to advance urban renewal as the country endeavors to create safer, greener and more comfortable cities, while fostering new growth momentum.

Under the urban renewal plan during the 15th Five-Year Plan period (2026-2030), recently released by the State Council, China aims to build its cities into places that ensure a high quality of life for the people by 2030.

The plan outlines concrete targets for this period, including the renovation of 500,000 units of dilapidated urban housing, 4,000 shanty towns, and 115,000 old urban residential communities. It also aims to upgrade and transform 1,500 old streets and factory areas, newly build and upgrade 128,000 hectares of space dedicated to sports, and renovate 20,000 hectares of green space in urban parks.

Beyond what is visible above ground, a significant aspect of the nation's urban renewal efforts takes place underground. According to the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development, China will build and upgrade around 770,000 km of urban underground pipelines during the 2026-2030 period. The initiative will focus on improving drainage and sewage networks to strengthen flood control, replacing aging water and gas pipelines, and upgrading heating systems to improve safety and efficiency.

"The urban renewal initiative is a major strategic deployment made by the Communist Party of China Central Committee to comprehensively promote high-quality urban development," said Vice Minister of Housing and Urban-Rural Development Qin Haixiang.

Qin said that China's urbanization is shifting from a period of rapid growth and large-scale incremental expansion to a stage focused on quality and efficiency in urban development.

According to him, the urban renewal plan, in addition to improving the wellbeing of the people and making cities safer, will also bolster the development momentum of cities, create favorable conditions for emerging industries and new business models, expand domestic demand, stabilize growth, and boost consumption.

Financial support serves as a key underpinning for the urban renewal drive. Since 2024, the finance ministry has provided funding for the projects in 50 major cities across the country. The central government is expected to maintain strong financial support for the projects during the 15th Five-Year Plan period, while continuously optimizing policies to improve the efficiency of fund utilization.

In 2026 alone, 97 billion yuan (about 14 billion U.S. dollars) from the central government budget is earmarked to support the renovation of old urban residential communities and dilapidated urban housing, a move expected to benefit approximately eight million households, according to Guan Peng, an official with the National Development and Reform Commission.

Meanwhile, 160 billion yuan in ultra-long special treasury bonds -- an increase of 25 billion yuan over the previous year -- will be allocated to support the construction and renovation of underground pipeline networks, Guan said.

The urban renewal plan also includes measures to strengthen the protection of urban historical and cultural heritage throughout every stage of the renewal process.

According to Zheng Degao, vice president of the China Academy of Urban Planning and Design, the plan complies with the overall needs to transform urban development models and build modern people-oriented cities, and its implementation is set to create safer and more comfortable living conditions as well as more convenient and efficient public services for the people.