"If only there were ten thousand houses, to provide shelter for all who need them." Influenced by traditional concepts, many Chinese believe that a family is not established until they have their houses. Over the past 40 years, the reform and opening up has been one of Chinese impressive accomplishments in history, and more than 1.3 billion people has gained more fulfillment and happiness from changes in housing. Looking back, from living in houses made of earth to those of bricks to new buildings, from living in dormitories to renting houses in urban villages to possessing a house provided by work units, all these changes in housing have left a great impression on people with mixed feelings.
Although times passes and youth leaves us behind, our memories don’t fade in the hustle and bustle of life. I still remember when I was a child, my family lived in a two-bay house made of earth, which we had to stick old newspapers on walls all over every year. I suppose it was in my first year of junior school that we moved into a three-bay new house with a timber framing and brick walls. Though it was only a single-story building, we still felt like in heaven. According to the rural custom, my parents decided to hold a housewarming feast after we moved in.
In 2011, after the college entrance examination, I continued my education in Luoyang city. In college, I was on top of the world when living in a tall building. Since then, it had been my biggest dream to own a house in the city. When I started to work, house became a major problem to be resolved, but then I was lucky enough to live in an urban village behind the school for a low rent. In this way, I stayed in the city for more than three years, without heating in winter and air conditioning in summer. This became an unforgettable experience in my life.
As long as you work hard, your dream will come true in one day. After working for two years, I was overjoyed to hear that the school would build specialized apartments for its teachers and staff, so were my family members. However, it was not provided for free. My family managed to make a down payment after borrowing money from all our relatives. Since then, we pinched and scraped, burdened with debt, and finally made the house payment for three times. After that, we waited and waited for the completion of the building. Before moving in, we decorated and furnished the house. It was particular warm to have heating on in winter, which my family of several generations had never enjoyed.
Unconsciously, the house is getting spacious and the environment is more and more pleasant. Around the campus, different types of buildings have mushroomed, including upscale residential areas, duplexes, apartments and low-rent houses. In the pursuit of adequate space, more and more people begin to care about various supporting facilities of the living environment. In the countryside of my hometown, there are few houses made of earth. In contrast, every family has built a small villa, leading a wonderful life of living in two-story buildings, and using electric lights and telephones.
One old saying goes that one can know the autumn has come when a leaf falls, and know what the leopard is like from a spot. In the same way, we can see China has made remarkable changes over the past 40 years from the transformation of houses. According to the statistical data from the State Statistics Bureau in July 2017, the per capita housing area has increased from 3.6 ㎡ to 40.8 ㎡. People have gone through three stages from worrying about houses, to having decent houses to live in, to feeling content with their houses, during which they have found fulfillment and satisfaction.
In the past 40 years, we beaver away and forge ahead with noticeable achievements. China, as well as the world, has undergone a profound change since the implementation of reform and opening up. The design of house is becoming more beautiful and novelty, which reveals a better standard of living. Today, we stick to reform and opening up with a more distinct value orientation and a broader vision, adopting a better-established approach, and moving forward in a clearer direction. Therefore, we believe that over 1.3 billion Chinese people will gain greater satisfaction and happiness in the future.
