A scene captured before the shantytown clearance project. Beiliang in Baotou is an area considered to be the cradle of the city. More than 90 percent of the buildings in Beiliang were built around 1949. Since the shantytown clearance project in 2013, houses covering an area of four million square meters were demolished and 109,000 residents were rehoused. [Photo/Baotou Evening News]

A file photo shows the lack of infrastructure in old Beiliang. [Photo/Baotou Evening News]

A file photo shows the living conditions in Beiliang before the shantytown clearance project starting in 2013. [Photo/Baotou Evening News]