Gibson guitar photo gig

Photos for the Gibson guitar story taken in Oct 2007 for Miss Wendy Lee from the Tennessean newspaper.

For Beijing Residents, Home Is Where the Family Is

Published 2 Feb 2008 for CNN.com. Click here for link.

BEIJING, China (CNN) -- Peter Wu is brimming with pride. "Have I told you that I'm a father now?" asks the 35-year-old Beijing resident. "My wife just gave birth to a baby girl!"

The baby is a timely addition to Peter's family, not least because they are faced with the pending demolition of their home, which is located along the narrow alleyways of one of Beijing's ancient hutongs. Peter says the compensation he was set to receive from property developers for his 20-square-meter house would have been about $1,170 per square meter.

But a new member in the family changes the equation.

"Now that my baby's arrived, they'd have to compensate me enough to buy a three-bedroom apartment," says Peter, who went by a false name for this interview.

Peter is among thousands of families in the path of China's rapid redevelopment. Under the country's compensation system for claiming their property, officials consider not only the size of the house, but also the size of the household, according to an expert.

"There are many factors governing the compensation payment offered to private owners in the case of an expropriation," explains Wang Yi, Professor of Law at Renmin University of China. "But in both cases, the number of people living in the household is indeed an important factor when considering compensation payment."

As China grows and prepares for the 2008 Olympics, older neighborhoods are making way for new sports facilities, luxury shopping complexes and residential areas. Between 40,000 to 50,000 households a year have been relocated during the past few years as part of the Chinese capital's redevelopment program, according to Sui Zhenjiang, director of Beijing's construction committee. However, a report by the Geneva-based Centre on Housing Rights and Evictions puts that number at 1.5 million.

Real estate prices have skyrocketed. The cost of new homes increased 42 percent -- from $821 per square meter to $1,169 -- between 2004 and 2006, according to a report published by Web site Sina.com and New Real Estate Magazine. As the capital's real estate prices climb, more residents are refusing to move due to what they see as low levels of compensation being offered to them. There have been protests in cities-- and rural areas -- across the country with accusations of illegal land grabs and unfair compensation.

"I'm not moving," says the owner of a small convenience store inside the narrow alleys of Dacaochang Hutong, right behind Wangfujing Grand Hotel. "With the amount of money they are offering, you can perhaps get something outside the fifth ring road. [But] there is no way I can buy my own place anywhere within the city."

Rewards for resettlement

Peter now waits to see if the arrival of his baby girl will boost his chance of higher compensation. "It is commonly known that even with the same property size, a household with five members is definitely entitled to a larger compensation than a household with just two members," Peter says.

"With five people in the family, the compensation would have to be enough to buy a two- or three-bedroom property. A family with just two people only needs a one-bedroom apartment. You can't pay the same amount of compensation to all families."

For others, it is more than a matter of compensation. There is also the question of history. In Beijing's narrow alleys -- or hutongs -- where Peter's home is located, residents look upon their neighborhoods with pride, an aesthetic dating as far back as the 13th century. They say the hutongs helped shape the capital's character and now ask: "at what price new development?"

With skyscrapers rising around them, residents of these old Beijing quarters still go about their daily routines as demolition looms: old men chat over a game of chess in the middle of the alley; second-hand traders haggle over the price of old electrical goods; and pet owners take their dogs out for a walk.

The only thing that is visibly out of place in this pleasant neighborhood is the eviction posters plastered on gray brick walls at every turn. The meaning behind the posters is loud and clear: "7 Days." That's the countdown to the deadline for early relocation rewards. Those who choose to move out before the deadline will be entitled to a $7,314 reward. The award matters little to Peter; he says he would not accept the money.

"The amount is too low. It would have to be at least $6,648 per square meter. Or else, we're not budging. We're sitting on prime land!"

Ningxia Part 1: Dirt Poor, Technology Rich

Trip 1: Zhangjiashu Village, Ningxia
Early Oct 2007

The province of Ningxia is one of the driest regions in China. Located along the old silk road in the outlying western dry lands, the weather conditions here are extremely harsh. There’s a local saying that goes 早穿棉袄午穿纱，晚上围着火炉吃西瓜 – wear a quilted jacket in the morning, wear silk at noon, and by evening, gather around the stove to eat watermelons. That’s how drastic the weather changes can be out here in the west.

Ningxia is also the home of China’s Hui ethnic minority. The Hui people are Muslims. Therefore, there is a huge Muslim influence on the culture, architecture and culinary practice of Ningxia. Halal restaurants are commonplace in the capital of Yinchuan and lamb is a staple here. If you ever visit Ningxia, lamb is a must, especially the local 手抓羊肉 shouzhua yangrou, baby lamb boiled to tender perfection accompanied with vinegar dipping sauce. Upon learning that we’re going to Ningxia for a second time, my producer and I looked in excitement, “Lamb!”

We were here to rediscover the life of Ma Yan—the 18-year-old author of The Diary of Ma Yan—who brought us back into her old village in the remote and mountainous areas of Ningxia. The village of Zhangjiashu was four hours’ drive away from Ningxia’s capital, Yinchuan. It was probably just our luck that it happened to rain in a place that’s dry 90% of the time. The road at the foot of mountain had turned into a 100 meter stretch of marsh due to heavy rains in the last few days. In times of rain or snow, access to the village can be totally cut off. So we had to trudge through a whole stretch of yellow mud and hike up several slopes before we were picked up by motorcycles which took us on a bumpy 20 minutes ride up the mountain.

The landscape was remarkable. I could see vast expanse of parched land along the way, earth that has cracked under the scorching sun and dry winds. “It may look dry, but the recent rain has made it soft. If you step on it, you are going to get sucked in and there’s no way of getting out. Kids have died because of that,” warned our driver.

It didn’t take us too long to discover that the children here are no strangers to the media. In fact, they seem to be a media-savvy bunch. Especially the kids from the village at the bottom of the mountain. They were following us as we walked up. And everytime I touch my camera, the kids around me would suddenly merge into a formation in front of me. I don’t even have to tell them to pose. All I have to do is take my camera out and there’s a pose right in front of me. Great! “1, 2, 3…say qiezi!” (the Chinese equivalent of ‘cheese!’ or rather ‘tomato!’)

It’s always interesting to have cute little village kids surrounding us but these kids here were a wee bit dirty for me to want to hang out with them. All I could remember was, most of them had snot on their faces and were trying to sniff them up and down. There were green stuff trickling down their noses and some had a translucent, glue-like smear across their cheeks. I’d like to play, kids, but we should get some tissues first.

We reached Zhangjiashu at noon and were served lunch at one of Ma Yan’s relative’s house. Almost everyone in the village has the surname Ma, which meant everyone here is related. The houses were made of mud and every family lives in a tiny room which is used as a kitchen, a living room, a bedroom and dining room. They cook there, they eat there and the entire family sleeps there.

Cave dwellings or yaodong still exist for some poorer families. “I used to live in a cave dwelling when I first got married,” said Ma Yan’s mother, Bai Juhua. “Very few people live in one of those anymore. Recently, a few of them collapsed because of the rain. Thank goodness nobody was hurt.”

The conditions in the village were poor. Due to its altitude high up in the mountains, it is impossible to dig wells that are deep enough to reach the water table below. Villagers have concrete wells that are used to store rainwater only when it rains. So what happens when there’s no rain? “We have to walk into town to get the water from the well there or buy water from the village below,” said Bai Juhua. My eyes went wide. It’s hard to imagine living in a place where water is such a commodity that unless someone takes a 2-hour walk down the mountain to carry a bucket up, there is nothing to drink. And don’t even start asking questions about showers.

Shower might be a luxury in villages in China. But satellite TV doesn’t seem to be so. So far, I’ve had my share of experiences in remote villages in China. And one thing that I’ve noticed is that, however poor or rural they may be, there are 2 things that these villages will definitely have—TV and mobile phone. They may not have drinking water, no proper toilet, no food…but they will definitely have mobile phones and satellite dishes for their TV. Now that’s a real information society. HBO, anyone?

More pictures on my flickr photo journal

The Story of Ma Yan has been aired on Al Jazeera English channel and can be viewed here