CHINA'S MILLIONS

Evening Post, Volume CXX, Issue 132, 30 November 1935, Page 11

CHINA'S MILLIONS

CEOWDED ALLEYWA"VS

THE HOUSING PROBLEM

HOW IT IS SOLVED

Wellington has its housing problem, but it is a mere bagatelle in contrast with that which exists in some of the principal cities of China. There, of course, the .standard of living is exceedingly low, and a comparison is out of the question, but it is an eyeopener to learn from first-hand information the state of affairs that exists in, for example, a city such as Shanghai. Mr. S. Hutchison, a New Zealander who is in business in Shanghai and was in Wellington recently on furlough, gave a "Post" reporter a short pen picture of how the housing problem is solved there. "The Chinese hong or li house, as it is called, is the type of house most commonly found in Shanghai," said Mr. Hutchison. "It is built usually in alleyways lying off the main thoroughfares. These houses measure -about 12 feet in width and 50 feet in depth. Five or ten of these houses occupy one mow of- land (one-sixth of an acre). "When new, each one is built with a small courtyard designed to provide a certain amount of air and light, a main room and kitchen on the ground floor, and two rooms and a drying-stage on the first floor, reached by a steep stairway. A water tap in the yard is the only suggestion of modern conveniences. Sanitary arrangements are completely absent. This is a building construction in accordance with the municipal council's requirements, and houses of this type are_to be found in thousands all over the settlement. To the uninitiated it would seem that a family could make itself fairly comfortable. But a visit, to the house after it had been in occupation for some time would reveal a surprising change in interior arrangements. ADDITIONS AND PARTITIONS. "The courtyard has been covered in. The large room which looked quite nice when first seen, has been cut into two by a partition and a passageway, with a storage loft over, made at the side. In the front part, about ten feet square, we have the lessor of the house and his family, five persons in all. He, of course, pays the rent of the whole house' to the landlord, letting out the rest to various sub-tenants. In the back portion, about 10ft by Bft we have three persons. The kitchen has been sectioned off and three more live m a 9ft by 9ft room. "Upstairs, what was the verandah has been closed in, and now forms part of the room which has again been divided into two. The front part is the best in the house, for it has light and -air and runs to full width. We find an exclusive family of two, a rather well-to-do young couple who can afford 13 dollars (365) a month for rent. The back part, smaller by reason of the passage, is the home of three persons. The room over the kitchen has its advantage because it is secluded; this also has two people in it. This was originally a two-storeyed house, but lofts have been made' in the slope of ■ the roof which will serve to cover a few more. "Two such rooms have been made. The front one has only a height of s£l in front and 7ft 7in at the apex of the roof. It is about Bft deep and shelters two persons. The back room about 10ft square, is right under the slope. It is only-three feet high at the back and is occupied by a single person. What was the drying stage has been partly closed and two more people live in it, a space about 9ft square. TWENTY-THREE OCCUPANTS. "So what we thought might be all right for a family is now serving as hearth and home for no less than 23 persons of varying ages. Houses divided in this way are occupied by men of the shopkeeper and clerk class. Coolie and labouring classes Jive under infinitely worse conditions, sleeping in lofts in day and night shifts. "Individual rentals for space in a house that has been divided up in the way described vary from 4 dollars a month for one of the lofts to 7 dollars or 9 dollars for an inner room and 13 dollars for the front room upstairs. TERRIBLE CONGESTION 7. "In the conversion of H houses to factories often a whole block is changed from dwellings into workshops. Inner walls are torn up, staircases removed, the courtyards and back yards covered, and machinery is installed, with electric motors to furnish the power to drive it. Shafting is suspended from the wooden beams below the upper floor and the vibration is very great. Upstairs lofts ars built-in wherever the height of tho room permits. Generally speaking the congestion is terrible and no provision exists for light and air, while there is a complete absence of any sanitary arrangements. "The condition of things is well known to our municipal- officials. They are anxious to do all they can to prevent any further growth of what is acknowledged to be a very unsatisfactory state of affairs. "In calculating the capital cost of building the li houses, the value of the land is, of course, a considerable factor. A net return of 12 per cent, is usually reckoned as the probablu amount which may be expected on this class of property. "It is estimated that in one street 200

yards long over 50,000 Chinese live, or rather sleep. The width of this street is not much greater than the footpath, but every 100 feet alleyways cross at right angles, and in turn contain dwellings. Bunks are tiered one above another with a minimum amount of space between them."