"When we heard about the housing demolition and relocation, we had a hard time saying goodbye to the old house,” said Zhang Shuqin, a resident from from Nanzhuang village in Beijing’s Daxing district.

In 2015, the construction of Beijing Daxing International Airport, located at the junction of Beijing’s Daxing district and Langfang in neighboring Hebei Province, began with demolishing a large number of houses in villages within the district's Yufa and Lixian towns.

Zhang had lived in Nanzhuang village for over 50 years. As the Chinese idiom goes, “Falling leaves return to their roots.” Leaving their places of birth was not easy, especially for those from the older generations.

The biggest concern that the Zhangs had was about housing – where they would be relocated and what the environment would be like. Talks and negotiations were held in the community on the construction of the country’s mega project as well as the overall relocation plan, while the interests of each family were taken into consideration.

Launched at the end of 2015, the resettlement housing project covers a construction area of around 1.95 million square meters with 136 residential buildings that can hold up to 15,000 houses, according to the local government.

After three years, a total of 7,005 households from 13 villages in the towns of Yufa and Lixian started moving into their new houses in mid-September 2018. The Zhangs stayed temporarily in Xincheng Jiayuan before they moved to Konggang Xinyuan in 2018.

“Convenience” is the first word that came to Zhang's mind when asked about her new living environment. There is a market right beside the neighborhood.

“We don’t need to go far to buy groceries. In the past, the market was about one kilometer away from our home,” Zhang told CGTN.

The newly-constructed residential area is not only clean, but also comes with better facilities, handy public transport and friendly neighbors.

To make full use of her spare time, Zhang started a dance troupe by gathering the residents who used to live in nearby villages. Gradually, the small group grew into a troupe of dozens of people. Today, they perform on festive occasions.

“When the new airport opens, there will be no need to travel far to take flights. My father-in-law hasn’t been anywhere by air, so I’m planning to take him on a trip by plane someday to make one of his wishes come true,” said Zhang.

Read more: Stories behind the marvelous new airport of Beijing

(Photos courtesy of CGTN)

Video editors: Wang Kailin, Li Yahui

Cover image designed by Du Chenxin