There are many unauthorized constructions on Qunyi Pedestrian Street.
Many shops on the first floor along the street have been expanded.
By Liang Rui of Jingbao / Text by Gao Lei / Photos
Next to Shouzhen Street in Pingshu Subdistrict, Longgang District, there is a bustling commercial area with a "300-meter-long Qunyi Women's Pedestrian Street." After 10 years of operation, this place has become a hub for women's and children's products and one of the busiest commercial streets in the area.
Recently, merchants on this pedestrian street informed reporters that they had successively received public letters from the subdistrict office regarding the comprehensive rectification of the North Gate Ao area and warm reminders from the enforcement team. This news was hard for the veteran stall owners who had been operating here for 10 years to accept. In recent days, after visiting the site, reporters discovered that according to the tips provided by the subdistrict enforcement team, this decade-old commercial street was, in fact, a long-standing illegal construction.
Sheet metal houses built into the pedestrian street pose many hazards.
On the afternoon of July 7th, reporters visited Qunyi Pedestrian Street next to Shouzhen Street in Pingshu Subdistrict. This pedestrian street, less than 300 meters long, surrounds the Qunyi Commercial City. A closer inspection revealed that the shops on the first floor of the commercial city, which sell women's shoes and underwear, had all extended outward by several meters, topped with sheet metal roofs and green awnings. Due to the limited size of the extensions, some shop areas were less than 2 square meters. At a glance from the outside, it was difficult to tell that these were added structures.
Reporters observed carefully and found that the electricity wires for these "street shops" were privately connected from inside the commercial building. Power sockets were placed randomly on the ground, without fixed lighting. Most used simple wiring with light bulbs. Additionally, apart from fire hydrants and extinguishers installed in the commercial building, the illegally constructed shops along the street lacked any fire safety facilities.
A merchant told reporters that this Qunyi Pedestrian Street was not actually a municipal-planned pedestrian street but was privately enclosed by the owner and management office. The entrance connecting to Shouzhen Street was even artificially blocked to prohibit vehicles from entering. Reporters roughly counted more than 160 illegally constructed buildings made of sheet metal. Nearly one-third of the original municipal road was occupied, and the fire lanes were far from meeting the required standard width of 8 meters.
Illegal constructions have existed for many years.
Why are illegal constructions so severe on this commercially operated street that has existed for many years? Chen Shengyan, head of the case review department of the Pingshu Subdistrict enforcement team, told reporters, "This situation has historical reasons."
It was learned that the Qunyi Pedestrian Street in Pingshu officially opened in January 2001. At the time, due to a lack of commercial facilities in Pingshu, the then Pingshu Town Committee and Town Government agreed to allow the town-owned company Qunyi to renovate six factory buildings located beside Shouzhen Street into commercial spaces. Individual entrepreneur Ren leased this project, and the town government required him to report according to industrial-to-commercial conversion requirements and comply with urban management laws and regulations, prohibiting storefront overhangs. Later, as women's and children's products became the mainstay of the street’s business, the street was renamed as the Women's Street.
Due to the continuous development of the commercial street, the original factories could no longer accommodate more merchants. The lessee began constructing around the exterior of the buildings to expand operations. A relevant person from the Pingshu Subdistrict Office told reporters that at the beginning of the opening, there were only a few scattered illegal constructions. As the stores expanded, more were added, gradually widening and worsening. During the town government's organization of cleanup actions in 2004, they handled the issue but, considering the large number of shops and significant impact, only allowed the owner to clear them themselves. Unexpectedly, instead of reducing, the illegal constructions increased. "Until now, we couldn't control it anymore, so we decided to seriously address it."
Expensive rent and stringent lease agreements.
"This street has been operating for 10 years, and now it's suddenly called an illegal construction!" A male shop owner who operates an underwear business here told reporters that he was very surprised upon hearing the news. Having been doing business in Pingshu for more than two years, the bustling atmosphere here brought a lot of business. This small store supported the expenses of a family of three. "With the New Year approaching, we hope the authorities can give us tenants more time to clear out our goods to minimize losses," he helplessly told reporters.
"The reason I chose to do business here is because it has been operating for a long time, and the business is good. The boss initially showed various certificates, and they still claim that the pedestrian street won't be demolished," this shop owner said. He reported that the Qunyi Commercial Street is run by Shenzhen Datianbang Industrial Co., Ltd. Before signing the lease agreement, tenants must pay infrastructure fees ranging from thousands to ten thousand yuan based on the size of the stall. They also need to pay one month's rent as a deposit and 500 yuan for water and electricity fees. If tenants pay annually, they can get a 20% discount, but the receipt will only show less than half of the amount. Tenants must renew their contracts six months before the contract expires; otherwise, the shop will be put up for transfer to other businesses. In the lease contract, the lessor shifts most of the responsibilities onto the tenant.
Despite the harsh conditions set by the lessor, there are still many people signing leases.
Reporters learned from the merchants that the Qunyi Pedestrian Street has always been operated by Shenzhen Datianbang Industrial Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as Datianbang Company). Ms. Ding, a staff member of Datianbang Company, told reporters that the company has always operated legally, and all processes have been approved by relevant departments. She also showed reporters the approval documents from the town government, the lease agreement with Qunyi Company, the fire inspection opinion letter, and other proofs. When reporters visited Ms. Ding on the 7th, she stated that the company's boss would cooperate with the government's actions.
On the morning of the 8th, Ms. Xiong, the legal representative of Datianbang Company, rushed to the Pingshu Subdistrict Petition Office to discuss the demolition of the commercial street with the main leaders of the subdistrict office. Ms. Xiong expressed her willingness to cooperate with the government's rectification actions and reasonably relocate the small merchants, but she requested that the enforcement unit provide sufficient time for clearance. However, the subdistrict office proposed that they must vacate and dismantle by themselves before the Lantern Festival next year. Ultimately, both parties did not reach an agreement on the clearance time.
The comprehensive rectification of North Gate Ao is about to start. Reporters learned from the Pingshu Subdistrict Office that to promote the new round of urban village comprehensive rectification focusing on fire safety governance, the Pingshu Subdistrict will launch the new North-South Gate Ao Comprehensive Rectification Project. By December next year, the area west of Phoenix Avenue, east of Pingshu Street, south of Double Embrace Street, and north of Hengling and Construction Road, covering a total of 527,600 square meters, will be rectified.
According to the staff of the Subdistrict Office's Construction Office, the primary purpose of this rectification is fire engineering, followed by underground pipelines, pedestrian paths, landscaping scenery, and facade refreshment and environmental upgrade enhancement projects. This nearly 2 billion yuan investment project is the largest second-class fire comprehensive rectification project in Shenzhen, aiming to create a more vibrant commercial district within a year. "The government is funding the rectification, and the future business environment here will be better, benefiting the residents of the jurisdiction."
It was learned that since November 23rd, the Pingshu Subdistrict enforcement team has been distributing warm reminders to the owners and tenants of the commercial street. On December 6th, another distribution occurred. Chen Shengyan told reporters that this falls under advisory notification, a reminder of humane law enforcement, informing merchants that their leased shops involve illegal construction and urging them to resolve economic disputes with the owner promptly to avoid financial losses. At the same time, it hopes to encourage merchants to clear their goods early and cooperate with the government's actions.
The head of the enforcement team also revealed that currently, the subdistrict enforcement team is investigating the situation of unauthorized constructions on the street, studying the penalties for illegal entities. The subdistrict office is also collecting contracts signed between merchants and owners, clarifying economic relationships, assisting merchants in obtaining legitimate compensation, and minimizing merchant losses as much as possible.
□ Department Statement
Longgang District leadership strictly orders the supervision of North Gate Ao rectification
Recently, reporters learned from the Two Offices of Longgang District that the issues of Qunyi Pedestrian Street in Pingshu have drawn the attention of the leadership of Longgang District. On the 10th, Vice District Chief Fu Xinjiang of Longgang, who oversees work safety supervision and fire services, commented on the report regarding the situation of Qunyi Pedestrian Street in Pingshu Subdistrict: The North Gate Ao community belongs to the key fire hazard community range supervised by the municipal government in 2011. Illegal constructions in this community must be legally dismantled and cleared to completely eliminate fire risks and ensure safety. On the materials submitted by the Pingshu Subdistrict to the Political and Legal Affairs Committee of Longgang District, District Party Committee Standing Committee Member Hu Xiaoming, Secretary of the Political and Legal Affairs Committee, and Director of the Public Security Bureau, also made comments, requiring the Longgang Stability Maintenance Office to cooperate with the Pingshu Subdistrict and other units to do related work. It was understood that the Pingshu Subdistrict once reported the rectification work to the District Party Committee. The main leaders of the district required relevant departments to quickly carry out rectification and environmental improvement work and required the District Party Committee and the District Government's relevant departments to strictly supervise the project.
Recently, the Urban Management and Law Enforcement Bureau of Longgang District sent a letter to the Pingshu Subdistrict enforcement team regarding the comprehensive rectification project of the new North-South Gate Ao, making suggestions on the team's law enforcement work: First, the comprehensive rectification project of the new North-South Gate Ao in Pingshu Subdistrict is a key comprehensive rectification project approved by relevant departments of the municipal government. It should strongly support this comprehensive rectification project and investigate and deal with illegal activities in the area according to its duties. During law enforcement, it must strictly abide by legal provisions and effectively enforce the law. Second, some areas involved in the rectification project involve many parties and span a long period of time, with some historical reasons. Before law enforcement, close cooperation with relevant departments of the subdistrict should be ensured to maintain stability, eliminate various unstable factors, and prevent violent resistance to law enforcement and unexpected incidents.