Located just south of Beijing’s Chaoyang Business District lies Huashiying village; a veritable shanty town surrounded by skyscrapers where narrow rows of crowded dwellings deprive inhabitants of sunlight. People from all over China live here under impoverished conditions as they seek their fortunes in the capital. Photo: Jin Shuo/chinanews.com

A boy plays in a narrow alley in Huashiying village. Located south of Guandongdianbei Jie in Beijing’s Chaoyang district, residents live in impoverished conditions in the shadow of the capital’s affluent business district. Photo: Jin Shuo/chinanews.com

Laundry hang to dry as residents take advantage of the limited sunlight that makes it through the dark alleys. Largely made up of migrant workers and senior citizens who cannot afford better housing, many Huashiying residents return from work late at night and seldom communicate with neighbors. Photo: Jin Shuo/chinanews.com

A Huashiying resident surnamed Xu prepares snacks to sell on Beijing’s streets. Xu explained he has sold food from his native Hubei Province ever since arriving in Beijing four years ago. Photo: Jin Shuo/chinanews.com

“Business is getting harder and rent has gone up to 1,000 yuan ($163.30) a month,” said Xu as he holds a sign displaying his limited menu. “My wife works in a restaurant and brings food back home sometimes. My son is now studying at a university. I hope he can find a good job in Beijing, but I know it’s very hard. ” Photo: Jin Shuo/chinanews.com

A woman surnamed Tong, who lives diagonally opposite from Xu, explained she walks through the long and narrow alleys with difficulty ever since she broke her left leg years ago. Photo: Jin Shuo/chinanews.com

Tong’s makeshift kitchen accommodates her family of five, all of which share an attached 10-square meter room. Tong said she hopes one day they can move into a decent apartment. Photo: Jin Shuo/chinanews.com

Several children play cards in an alley while their parents work. Photo: Jin Shuo/chinanews.com

An elderly man looks out from his cluttered, dark room. Many seniors move to Huashiying in order to live with their children working in Beijing. Photo: Jin Shuo/chinanews.com

Most residents live with all their possessions packed into a room no larger than five square meters. Photo: Jin Shuo/chinanews.com

A boy washes himself in a Huashiying alley as people walk by. With little running water available, bathing proves a headache for most residents. Photo: Jin Shuo/chinanews.com

A rusty sink outside a small brick shack. Photo: Jin Shuo/chinanews.com

A man hauls garbage cans in his three-wheel electric bicycle through an alley. Photo: Jin Shuo/chinanews.com

Vendors selling food, vegetables and other necessities line the narrow alleys of Huashiying. As summer temperatures rise, open dumpsters and piles of garbage add to the squalor-like conditions. Photo: Jin Shuo/chinanews.com

While is unknown exactly how many people live in Huashiying, official numbers estimate around 700,000 inhabitants reside in dense and tightly-knit houses like the ones in Huashiying. During an economic conference held in Beijing this July, vice mayor Chen Gang said the municipality plans to invest some 500 billion yuan ($81.65 billion) to renovate such areas over the next five years. Photo: Jin Shuo/chinanews.com