BAISHIZHOU, China — The concrete block buildings that shade the narrow asphalt alleyways of Baishizhou are so closely situated that they are called “handshake” buildings — it is that easy for neighbors to greet one another.

中國白石洲——林立於白石洲狹窄小巷兩旁的混凝土建築如此密集，乃至被稱為「握手」樓——鄰居們可以很方便地相互打招呼。

Over the years, the buildings appeared to be cinched even closer by bundles of electrical wires strung from rooftop to rooftop, pulling small urban quarters together into a densely packed tenement village in the heart of Shenzhen, one of southeastern China’s surging metropolises.

多年來，這些建築似乎因屋頂之間扯出的一捆捆電線而顯得距離更近，一塊塊小城市街區緊密相連，成為中國東南部正在崛起的大都市深圳市中心一個擁擠的租住村。

On the streets, pedestrians dodge cars and bikes during the daily rush, and still larger crowds turn out for the vibrant night markets.

在每天的高峰期，街上行人閃避着來往的汽車和單車。在充滿活力的夜市開啟時，還會有更多人冒出來。

Baishizhou, an organic conglomerate of five smaller urban villages, has for decades served as an enclave of cheap housing for migrant workers and immigrants who have helped support Shenzhen’s rapid economic growth. But the days are numbered for the teeming tenement neighborhood, home to about 150,000 people: Long-awaited demolition plans have finally begun.

白石洲是由五個更小的城中村組成的城市有機體。在過去幾十年裡，它一直是農民工和城市移民獲得便宜住宿的城中飛地。這些人幫助實現了深圳經濟的快速發展。但留給這個居住着15萬人左右的擁擠租住社區的時間卻不多了：被談論已久的拆除計劃終於開啟。

In a city — and country — eager to modernize and redevelop its inner cities, urban villages like Baishizhou are seen by government officials as dirty and backward. Instead, they aim to build gleaming new residential and commercial districts to reflect Shenzhen’s rise.

在一個急於實現現代化和對市中心進行再開發的城市——和國家——白石洲這樣的城中村被政府官員看作骯髒和落後的代表。作為替代，他們打算在這裡建造可以反映深圳崛起的閃亮的新住宅區和商業區。

These new developments would uproot longtime residents who have faced the threat of demolition for years. Baishizhou is in a central district of Shenzhen long valued for its potential for commercial redevelopment. Plans to remake the area began in 2005, and in 2014 Shenzhen officials marked part of Baishizhou for redevelopment. A factory and office complex in central Baishizhou, the Shahe Industrial District, was slated to be razed at the end of April.

這些新發展將令當地的老居民無家可歸，多年來他們一直面臨拆除的威脅。白石洲位於深圳的一個中心區，該區一直因其潛在商業再開發價值受到關注。重塑這一區域的計劃始於2005年。2014年，深圳官員標出白石洲的部分區域，用於再開發。依照規劃，位於白石洲中心的一家工廠和一片名叫沙河工業區的辦公區本該在今年4月底被夷為平地。

The factory remains, and new delays have stalled plans to tear it down.

如今這家工廠還在，拆除計劃因新的延誤因素再次擱置。

“It will happen, sooner or later,” says Wu Zhengui, 62, a migrant from Zhejiang Province. He has been selling shoes for 14 years out of a storefront on the eastern edge of the Shahe complex, where stores up and down the blocks advertise “demolition sales.”

「拆除是遲早的事，」62歲的吳振貴（音）說。他來自浙江省，已經在沙河工業區東邊邊緣地帶的一個鞋店做了14年的生意。這幾個街區各處的店鋪大多標着「拆遷大甩賣」的字樣。

“I just keep selling my shoes, buying less inventory, and waiting for the government notice to come saying they will finally tear this place down,” he said ruefully.

「我就繼續賣我的鞋，少進點貨，等着政府通知什麼時候拆除，」他悲傷地說道。

Until then, life continues as normal in Baishizhou. At night, women gather to wash their laundry at a well outside socialist dormitories, built during Mao’s time, when Baishizhou was still a collectivized farm. Residents set up pool tables in alleys and screen movies on the sidewalks near empty buildings marked for demolition with dark red paint.

在那之前，白石洲的居民依然正常生活着。晚上，女人們聚在一座社會主義風格的宿舍樓外的井邊洗衣服。這座建築建於毛澤東時代，當時白石洲還是一個集體農場。居民們在巷子裡支起檯球桌，在人行道上放電影，附近是用暗紅色的油漆做有拆除標記的空置建築。

Hua Chenling, 54, a recent migrant from Fujian Province, opened a bare bones fruit store in Baishizhou just a month ago, even though she knew her building was scheduled to be torn down. “I don’t worry about demolition,” she said. “I need to make a living. I just take things month by month.”

54歲的華晨玲（音）是最近從福建過來的務工人員，一個月前剛剛在白石洲開了一家簡陋的水果店，儘管她知道自己所在的建築將被拆除。「我不去想拆遷的事情，」她說。「我得賺錢過活。能賣一個月是一個月。」

Baishizhou has long served as a haven for Shenzhen’s disadvantaged newcomers. Rents are cheaper than in more developed neighborhoods. An elementary school in the village teaches the children of migrant workers who would otherwise not qualify for Shenzhen’s public schools.

長久以來，白石洲一直是深圳條件不好的新來務工人員的避難所。相比更好的社區，這裡租金便宜。村內有一家小學可以接收農民工的孩子，這些孩子沒有資格進入深圳的公立學校。

Despite the long-threatened demolition, Baishizhou’s lively atmosphere and low rents continue to lure new businesses and foreign entrepreneurs. There are design studios, boutiques and a hacker space for young techies. Newly established craft beer breweries have helped establish a nascent night life scene.

儘管長期面臨拆除的威脅，白石洲的活躍的氣氛和低租金仍然不斷地吸引不少人來這裡做生意，包括一些外國創業者。這裡有設計工作室、精品服裝店和一些年輕科技迷創立的黑客空間。新開的精釀啤酒作坊也帶來了新的夜生活場景。

“For young people, this is the exciting, hipster place to be. We want to allow other people to see how vibrant and interesting Baishizhou is,” said Mary Ann O’Donnell, who has lived for 20 years in Shenzhen and in 2013 co-founded Handshake 302, an arts space in Baishizhou.

「對年輕人來說，這裡是令人興奮的潮人聚集地。我們想讓其他人看到白石洲是多麼有活力和有趣，」在深圳生活了20年的瑪麗·安·奧唐奈(Mary Ann O』Donnell)說。2013年，她在白石洲與人合作創辦了一個名為「握手302」(Handshake 302)的藝術空間。

“Worrying about demolition is like worrying about the sky falling, or dying,” said Lan Jiang, 32, who has operated a small computer repair store in Baishizhou for four years. He has heard about the possibility of demolition since the day he arrived from his native Sichuan Province. He sees no reason at this point to oppose the demolitions, or to move. “People like us can’t do anything to change things,” he said. “Policies are never designed to benefit the lowest classes.”

「擔心拆遷就像擔心天塌下來，或擔心死亡降臨，」32歲的藍江（音）說，他在白石洲經營一家電腦修理鋪已經有4年。自他從四川的家鄉來到這裡的第一天起，就一直聽說要拆遷。此時此刻，他似乎找不到反對拆除或搬遷的理由。「我們這些人改變不了什麼，」他說。「政策從來都不是為最底層的階級謀利益的。」

Other urban villages in Shenzhen have been disappearing one by one to make room for lucrative commercial and residential developments. Across town, West Gangxia, a former urban village, was razed in 2009. Today it is home to modern skyscrapers that make up the skyline of Shenzhen’s central business district.

為了給有利可圖的商業與住宅開發讓位，深圳的其他城中村一個接一個地消失。在深圳的另一頭，之前存在的城中村崗廈西村在2009年被拆除。如今那裡聳立着現代化的高樓大廈，它們構成了深圳中心商業區的天際線。

That is Baishizhou’s fate, too, when the Shenzhen government concludes negotiations with the citizens who own the land rights to the village. During China’s Great Leap Forward, about 60 years ago, land from Baishizhou’s five villages was collectivized by the state into an agricultural commune. Later, as the villages merged and urbanized matters of land ownership became complicated.

待深圳政府與擁有該村土地使用權的居民結束談判時，白石洲也將面臨同樣的命運。在60年前的大躍進時期，白石洲五個村莊的土地被政府集中起來，變成一個農業公社。後來，隨着村莊合并，走上城市化的道路，土地所有權的情況變得複雜起來。

“It is actually because of how ambiguous the land use ownership is that Baishizhou has been able to survive for so long,” said Du Juan, an associate professor and associate dean of architecture at Hong Kong University who is working on a book about urban villages. Ms. Du said that negotiations with villagers could take five to 10 years.

「實際上，正是因為土地使用權模糊不清，白石洲才得以存在這麼長時間，」香港大學建築學院副院長、副教授杜鵑說。她正在撰寫一本有關城中村的著作。杜娟表示，與村民的談判可能會持續五到十年。

Still, preparations for Baishizhou’s impending destruction have already begun. Shenzhen banned the construction of new buildings in urban villages in 2006. Last year, a long concrete wall about six feet high was erected along the village’s main road, conveniently hiding the area marked for demolition and diverting foot traffic away from the shops that have stubbornly remained open.

不過，白石洲即將到來的拆除所需的準備工作已經開啟。2006年，深圳開始禁止在城中村建新樓。去年，這個城中村主幹道上立起約六英尺（合1.8米）高的長長的水泥牆，擋住了標有拆除標記的區域，使步行的人群轉向，遠離了村中還在堅持營業的店鋪。

Duan Peng, an architect from Sichuan Province who has been living in Shenzhen for 15 years, has spent the last year photographing Baishizhou residents holding signs protesting the demolition. Eventually, he plans to present a book of 60 portraits to the Shenzhen Complaints Office, in the hope that officials will change their minds about razing Baishizhou.

來自四川省的建築師段鵬（音）已經在深圳生活了15年。他花了去年一年的時間拍攝白石洲居民舉着抗議拆遷的標牌的照片。他計劃最終向深圳信訪辦公室提交一個包含60張肖像的冊子，希望官員能改變拆除白石洲的想法。

“Every city needs a soul, a place where people can afford to have the time to settle down, grow and put down roots,” said Mr. Duan, who lived in a nearby urban village before buying an apartment in 2003 in Shenzhen proper. “Shenzhen, like America, is a melting pot of immigrants. They all need somewhere they can survive, assimilate and later flourish.”

「每個城市都需要自己的靈魂，一個人們住得起的地方，可以落腳、發展以至紮根，」段鵬說。他最初住在附近的一個城中村，之後於2003年在深圳市內買了套公寓。「深圳跟美國一樣，是一個聚集了各地移民的大熔爐。他們都需要能讓自己生存下來的空間，在這裡受到同化，獲得發展。」

For now, residents new and old go about their business, seemingly oblivious to the empty factories nearby marked for demolition. Merely going about their routines is a form of defiance for many locals, says Ms. O’Donnell, the 20-year Shenzhen resident. “Baishizhou is here until it’s gone.”

目前，村中的新舊居民都忙着自己的事情，似乎沒有留意附近標有拆遷標記的空蕩蕩的工廠。對這裡的很多居民而言，僅僅是照例過自己的生活，已經是一種反抗，在深圳生活了20年的奧唐奈說。「拆除之前，白石洲會一直存在。」