This photo taken on Oct. 31, 2025 shows the construction site of a sewage pipeline renovation project in an old neighborhood in east China's Shanghai. [Photo/Xinhua]

China launched renovation projects at 25,100 old urban residential communities in the first 10 months of 2025, continuing efforts to make its cities more livable, official data showed on Thursday.

With 16 provincial-level regions having met their renovation targets this year, the figure has surpassed the national annual goal of renovating 25,000 old urban residential communities, according to data from the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development.

From 2019 to 2024, China launched renovation projects at approximately 280,000 old urban residential communities, benefiting more than 120 million people, per the data.

During that same period, aging pipelines measuring a total of 360,000 kilometers in length were renovated and upgraded, 3.87 million parking spaces were created, and 78,000 community-based elderly care or child care service facilities were built as part of these renovations.

In July, the Central Urban Work Conference said that urban renewal should be an important lever to optimize urban structures, transform growth drivers, improve quality of life, advance green development, preserve cultural heritage, and enhance governance efficiency.