China

Checking what has changed

(China Daily)
Updated: 2010-09-03 14:14

Zhang Yanhua (right), a census taker in Beijing, checks household information with a resident in the Shijia neighborhood. Cui Meng /China Daily

BEIJING - When Zhang Yanhua was asked whether she would again volunteer to be a census taker, she immediately said yes.

And this is despite the fact that 20 years ago, Zhang had experienced how arduous the job was.

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Now, two decades on, the 51-year-old Zhang said she wanted to do it again - not only to do something good for the nation, but to have an opportunity to tour one of Beijing's oldest neighborhood that "probably may give its way to highrises one day".

Zhang has since Aug 15 been part of a huge team working on a preliminary population survey in Beijing, interviewing residents in the Shijia neighborhood.

The area, where Zhang was born and where she grew up, is home to many of Beijing's oldest hutong, which are ancient city alleys, and siheyuan, courtyard houses enclosed by four walls.

She used to know almost every resident, but since many older ones have moved out and migrants have moved in, Zhang has seen more and more new faces.

"It seems to be an irresistible trend - hutong are disappearing, native Beijingers are moving everywhere and are renting their homes to migrants," she said.

Gone with the old residents are traditions and lifestyles where community members were one big family.

Now those living in the same courtyard, many of whom are young migrants, may not talk much to each other and "the saddest part of the story" is that they may not know each other at all, she said.

"People care more about privacy and they chat on the Internet instead of doing so face to face," she said.

But the retired textile worker still wants to recapture the old days through encounters with residents.

Since the survey began, Zhang has worked from 8 am to 10 pm, visiting 40 families each day.

Night work is essential because many residents are not at home during the day, unlike years ago when three generations would live together and someone would be at home most times.

"The pace of life is much quicker now. There is no doubt about that," she said. "Young people have to work hard to make a living in such a competitive Beijing."

And there are more "empty nests", or couples without their children with them.

"People are getting older and many of them have only one child," she said.

"They have to endure the loneliness when the child grows up and leaves home."

Zhang said she would experience this when her son, 28, gets married and moves out.

That, she said, help her understand the significance of the census and how the family-planning policies adopted more than 20 years ago have impacted on the population.

"It is important to have a clear demographic picture for China, so that policies can be adjusted to the times, when the aging population is growing," she said.

Zhang said she didn't mind being refused by some people when doing the survey because of a growing awareness of privacy.

"What I do is to assure them their privacy will be well protected and the information collected is only for the census," she said.

Zhang said meeting old friends, especially those who have been living there for years, has been the most exciting part of her work.

"Recalling the old days was one of the few ways to make me believe I belong to this fast-changing city," she said.

China Daily