Up and Down

Although some parts of the city are now very modern there are still quite a few old neighbourhoods. The low-rise buildings seen here are mostly 8 stories high, the standard height for low-rise buildings - and the reason for 8 stories? Well 8 is a lucky number in China but that's not the reason. The actual reason is that buildings over 8 floors have to have a lift (elevator) installed and 20 to 30 years ago China was still relatively poor and lifts were luxuries. But as urbanization continues (recently China shifted from having a mainly rural population to 51% of the population living in towns and cities) the crowding in cities has forced developers to build ever taller buildings and such low-rise apartment buildings are seldom built nowadays.
(by Margaret Peng)