With more than 17.4 million residents and a growing middle class eager to trade its Mao-era housing for new apartments, Beijing has been building residential towers at a breathless clip for much of the past decade. In the process, it has erased entire neighborhoods of single-story, courtyard houses on the old streets and lanes known as hutong, unraveling the tight social fabric that connected residents, shopkeepers, and other local businesses. While a few rich Chinese and foreigners have lovingly restored or modernized old courtyard houses, most middle-income families have moved into new apartment towers that stand alone or in gated clusters.
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