A demolition site recently attracted the public's attention in the Shuangcheng district of Harbin, as PRC founding general Liu Yalou's former residence was forcibly demolished.

Liu Yalou joined both the Chinese Communist party and the Red Army in 1929. Liu participated in the Long March, and, during the War of Liberation, commanded several victorious battles. After the founding of the PRC, Liu became the commander-in-chief of China's air force.

In the early morning of June 25, a total of seven immovable relics were razed to the ground in a shanty town located northeast of Shuangcheng. On the site was a red notice board with the words, "This is a protection site for immovable relics."

There are 260 households living in the 50,000 square meters of this town. Because of the location, many residents consider demolition their only hope of bettering their living conditions. In an appeal letter, 28 residents explained that they did not know they were living on a cultural relics site when the demolitions began. These former residences became private property in 1987. Inhabitants updated and renovated the houses, making major changes to their original appearances and structures. At the time, no individuals or government departments opposed the changes.

During the third national survey on cultural relics, over 140 sites in Shuangcheng were affirmed as immovable relics. In July 2015, the Shuangcheng government applied to remove the relics status and corresponding protection from those sites already damaged or altered beyond recognition, but the application has not yet received a reply.

In order to let residents move back as soon as possible, the demolition is being carried out by areas and in stages. Construction in regions without relics is first. As for the rest, they have to wait for an official opinion to be handed down.

So far, police have arrested and detained two criminal suspects. The Harbin government has intervened in the inspection.