Ren Wei loves to run marathons, an exercise he took up when he served in the army.

"Marathon running de-stresses me and allows me to be creative and inspired in my work," said Ren, who is the secretary of the Party Working Committee of Pengpu Xincun Subdistrict.

The tenacity Ren cultivated through marathon running also enables him to overcome one community challenge after another.

Ren has been serving as a key leader in the subdistrict, which features a cluster of decades-old neighborhoods, since December 2013.

While doing community research, he heard an elderly woman lament that she did not know if she could wait until her house was remodeled.

That made him put "renovation of old houses" at the top of his agenda, as can be seen in the Pengyi residential complex.

In Pengyi, 40 dilapidated multi-storey houses are being transformed into a residential complex on the same site, with 17 buildings of eight to 19 floors, serviced by elevators. A two-storey underground garage with nearly 1,700 parking spaces will be built, along with many facilities that will improve residents' quality of life.

The 2,110 families in Pengyi moved out in July 2021, and are expected to move back to new homes in about four years.

"We are lucky birds," said Peng Juhua, a Pengyi resident.

"We are fortunate to stand at the forefront of urban renewal. I believe the renovation of Pengyi provides the best example of this."

Another concern for Ren is how to take good care of local elderly residents.

Currently, the subdistrict is home to 56,200 people aged 60 or above, accounting for 46.3 percent of the population.

Hence, Ren sought to build a "15-minute elderly care service circle" by establishing numerous elderly service centers. "No matter where the elderly live, they always can enjoy the facilities," he said.

He also promoted projects such as community canteen services and home environment adaptations for the elderly.

Every time Ren visits the community canteen, he is recognized by the elderly people there, who applaud him for "doing really good things".

In the process of environment adaptations, the local governance has been specializing in the design of public area seating. Ren insisted that a backrest should be added to seats so the elderly could sit more comfortably.

"I am pleased when I walk through the streets of the neighborhood, seeing elderly people occupying every corner, engaged in lively conversations," Ren said.