Living in a hutong, there’s still plenty of parking space for cars.

Living in a hutong, there’s still plenty of parking space for cars.

As living standards rise, the number of motor vehicles across the country has surged, making parking shortages and disorderly parking pressing issues in urban governance. How can this pressing public‑service challenge be alleviated? The difficulty of finding parking has become a common dilemma that major cities must confront. In Beijing’s Wangfujing district, where land is at a premium, this problem is particularly acute.

　　On the east side of Wangfujing Street lies Meizha Hutong, notorious for its traffic jams. The road is already narrow, and with rows of parked vehicles lining both sides, it becomes even more cramped and difficult to navigate. Congestion is commonplace, and the honking of car horns echoes continuously throughout the alley. “What’s even more serious is that this hutong serves as a vital lifeline for accessing the emergency department; any delay in providing timely treatment could mean the difference between life and death,” said Liu Xueming, director of the Comprehensive Governance Office at Peking Union Medical College Hospital.

　　Recently, a reporter revisited Meizha Hutong. The previous scene of motor vehicles parked haphazardly, blocking the roadway, is now gone. Cars whiz by in an instant, disappearing from sight. “Back then, I’d circle around my doorstep, searching for a parking spot; now I park in a designated space in the underground garage, and I no longer worry about my car getting scratched,” said Xie Dongying, a resident near Meizha Hutong, with a sigh.

　　How has the Wangfujing area addressed the challenges of parking shortages and disorderly parking? What measures have been implemented, and what lessons can be drawn from these efforts? A reporter conducted interviews to find out.

In the past

“There’s not even room to squeeze in.”

Meizha Hutong stretches 301 meters in length, with a main roadway eight meters wide and running east–west. The western entrance is just 234 meters from Wangfujing Street. On the south side, the hutong adjoins the emergency building of Peking Union Medical College Hospital’s north gate, while on the north side lie several residential complexes, home to more than 300 households.

Due to its unique location, the area around Meizha Hutong sees heavy pedestrian and vehicular traffic, with an especially large influx of tourists and patients visiting each year. “Often, as you’re walking along, the cars behind you honk their horns—‘beep, beep, beep’—urging you to move,” says Xie Dongying. Even for residents, finding a place to park has become a major challenge: “You can’t squeeze in even when there’s barely any space.”

The Wangfujing area, where Meicai Hutong is located, lies south of Chang’an Avenue and west of Tiananmen Square, at the intersection of the city’s “two axes.” According to Su, deputy director of the Donghuamen Subdistrict, among the eight hutongs around Wangfujing that do not permit on‑street parking, only 398 motor vehicles can be parked in an orderly manner. Yet, on average, about 1,300 vehicles seek parking each day, creating a substantial shortfall. As a result, severe parking shortages and chaotic parking conditions are widespread, seriously impacting residents’ travel and the overall quality of the neighborhood environment. “The Wangfujing area boasts a high concentration of shopping malls and office buildings and abundant parking resources, making it well suited to addressing parking challenges through ‘shared parking spaces,’” explained Hu Xiangjun, deputy director of the Dongcheng District Urban Management Committee.

However, achieving “shared parking spaces” is far from easy. First, guiding residents presents a significant challenge. For years, residents have been accustomed to occupying the public spaces of hutongs for free, and they often resist paying for parking. Second, the nearby parking facilities available for sharing are all commercial‑type lots, and their operators are reluctant to accommodate residents’ shared‑parking needs. Moreover, these commercial parking lots generally charge relatively high rates, creating a substantial gap between those prices and what residents can afford.

The reporter learned that, in the prime location of the Wangfujing area, parking fees average around 1,000 yuan per month, with some charges reaching as high as 2,900 yuan—far above what most residents can afford. Moreover, certain parking lots are extremely crowded during the day, requiring residents’ vehicles to remain off‑site during daylight hours, a rule that not all residents find acceptable.

Improvement

Ensure that ordinary citizens have a place to park their cars—and can afford to do so.

With the interests of both sides difficult to reconcile, alleviating the parking shortage has, for the time being, hit a snag.

Given the shortage of parking facilities, constructing new ones is undoubtedly the most straightforward solution. In the past, many hutongs in Dongcheng District have achieved “no‑parking” status largely through the development of new parking infrastructure. For example, Qinglong Hutong in Beixinqiao Subdistrict gained 300 additional parking spaces when a new parking lot was built on its eastern section in 2016, enabling that stretch to become no‑parking ahead of schedule. Similarly, in the Nanluoguxiang area of Jiaodaokou Subdistrict, Hutongs such as Suoyi Hutong, Fuxiang Hutong, and Qianyuan’en Temple Hutong also attained “no‑parking” status after the construction of parking lots provided residents with designated parking access points.

On May 1, 2018, Beijing introduced new parking regulations mandating that vehicles be parked in designated spaces and imposing parking fees, effectively ending the practice of “parking nearby or for free.” Meanwhile, the “Beijing Urban Design Guidelines for Street Renewal and Governance (Public Consultation Draft)” explicitly stipulates that, in principle, no further widening of existing streets within the capital’s core area will be undertaken, and that parking in hutongs will eventually be phased out. In response, Dongcheng District promptly adjusted its approach to addressing parking challenges in hutongs: “Previously, our strategy was to pursue moderate development, tap existing potential, and promote sharing. Now, that order has been reversed—first sharing, then tapping potential, and finally pursuing moderate development,” explained Hu Xiangjun.

“Shared parking spaces” have become an inevitable trend, but the first step is to change residents’ mindsets. In response to the long-standing practice of occupying urban public spaces without charge, which has led to a lack of awareness about paying for parking, Dongcheng District established a dedicated task force comprising representatives from the Donghuamen Subdistrict, the Urban Management Committee, and the Wangfujing Construction and Management Office. Through patient, face-to-face dialogue with residents, the task force has helped them gradually embrace the principles of “parking in designated spaces, paying for parking, and facing penalties for illegal parking.”

“The street office has organized seven policy briefings and more than ten resident forums, during which it has not only publicized relevant policies and regulations but also carefully listened to residents’ views and suggestions, responded positively to their concerns, addressed their anxieties, and encouraged them to park their vehicles in underground facilities,” Su introduced.

How can we ensure that residents have a place to park their cars—and that parking is affordable? The local street administration engaged a specialized team from Beijing University of Civil Engineering and Architecture to conduct a survey of the utilization rates at 22 commercial parking facilities, gathering first-hand data. While parking spaces at major shopping centers such as Wangfujing Department Store and the apm shopping mall are in extremely short supply, some other commercial buildings and office towers still operate their parking lots below full capacity.

Accordingly, the government stepped in to coordinate with the commercial parking facilities surrounding Wangfujing. The China Travel Service Building contributed 10 spaces, the Century Building 20, the Regent Hotel 100, and Xinyansha 200—ultimately, nine businesses pooled a total of 630 “shared parking spaces.” At the same time, they offered residents a menu‑style pricing structure: off‑peak evening parking at 300 yuan per month, long‑distance all‑day parking at 300 yuan per month, and short‑distance all‑day parking at 500 yuan per month. In the end, the proposed arrangement won broad approval from both merchants and residents.

Xie Dongying secured a 24-hour parking space at the Macau Center near Meizha Hutong. “The preferential rate for residents is 500 yuan per month, which is reasonable. The best part is I no longer have to worry about finding a spot every day—now I can sleep soundly.”

Method :

　　Parking space sharing, capacity optimization, and differentiated pricing

　　Arriving on Wangfujing Street, after passing the pedestrian zone and continuing north, you’ll find, on the east side, Baishu Hutong, Ganyu Hutong, and Xitangzi Hutong; on the west side, Shaojiu Hutong, Beiguanchang Hutong, and Xila Hutong. Where parking once stood, conspicuous bollards have now been installed. Each alleyway also features yellow “No Parking” signs, and the road surface is marked with white arrows on a yellow background indicating one-way traffic. “The streets are wider, the sky feels higher, and my heart is lighter!” With all 15 alleys now designated as no‑parking zones, the Wangfujing area—covering 1.65 square kilometers—has become Beijing’s first “no‑parking district.” “Next, we will deploy a new parking guidance system in the Wangfujing neighborhood to enable smart parking, improve local traffic flow, and further optimize the transportation environment,” Hu Xiangjun explained.

In 2019, Dongcheng District will replicate the Wangfujing parking‑management model and continue to develop “no‑parking zones.” The Suzhou, Qinglong, Guozijian, and Dongsi areas will be designated as Dongcheng’s four major no‑parking districts. On the one hand, measures such as parking‑space sharing and tapping underutilized capacity will expand parking supply to ease residents’ parking needs; on the other hand, in neighborhoods and hutongs where constructing surface parking lots is not feasible, the district will actively explore the development of underground parking facilities, provided they comply with the core‑area control regulations.

Su Yue acknowledged that, as Beijing’s first “no‑stop parking district,” the Wangfujing area has already pioneered successful approaches to shared parking. However, what works in one place may not be readily replicable elsewhere. “Urban management requires meticulous, painstaking efforts; addressing the parking challenge calls for mobilizing the enthusiasm and initiative of the broader public, pooling collective wisdom, and harnessing everyone’s strength—only then can we ultimately find effective solutions,” Su Yue said.

Faced with the contradiction of “more cars than parking spaces,” on the one hand, residents should be encouraged to make do with available spaces in ways that suit their local circumstances; on the other hand, drivers must abandon uncivilized parking habits and adopt a mindset of “parking in designated spots, paying for parking, and accepting penalties for illegal parking,” thereby jointly safeguarding the neighborhood environment.

“Parking in hutongs constitutes the use of public resources, and going forward, parking there will no longer be free. At present, some appropriately wide hutongs in Dongcheng District have begun to designate official parking spaces, and a “differentiated parking‑fee” system will be implemented throughout the hutongs.”

How can parking fees be differentiated? Chen Xiansen, Deputy District Mayor of Dongcheng District, cited the Suzhou area as an example: within the hutongs, officially designated parking spaces have been marked, but parking in the hutongs itself incurs relatively higher charges. By contrast, parking at the designated lots at the ends of the hutongs results in lower fees. Since different communities vary in location, parking resources, and residents’ needs, their parking rates also differ. “By adopting this approach of differentiated parking pricing, we can regulate parking in the hutongs, encourage people to reduce the occupation of public space, preserve the traditional character of the hutongs, facilitate residents’ travel, and improve their living environment—achieving multiple benefits in one go.”