A total of 12 alleys in Zhangjiagang, Jiangsu province, will be reconstructed this year, according to a plan by a related Zhangjiagang government department. As of August 2, construction on five alleys has already been completed. Three are almost done and the other four will be rebuilt by late August.

The city began to reconstruct small alleys in 2008. At Xiangyang Alley, workers are building a rain drainage network, which means the reconstruction is nearly finished.

A citizen living near the alley said roads in this area used to be narrow, rough and full of holes. People could hardly walk through the roads if cars were parked there, and there were no streetlamps. Now the roads are flat and wide, and streetlamps are bright so they feel safer.

There are 55 such small alleys in Zhangjiagang. The city spent 36.44 million yuan ($5.95 million) from 2008 to 2012 reconstructing 16 of them.