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Xue Jinshan: If I were to move to the house they want to give to me I would have to spend ten hours on the road every day to get to and back from work. The new place is in Songjiang district, but I work in Baoshan district [the two areas are on opposite sides of Shanghai].
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Yes. I had two elderly people in this home, they couldn’t stand the demolition noise so I had to move them somewhere else. My son was taking the college entrance examinations last yearl I begged them to turn down the noise, but they didn’t.How long will you hold out here?
I don’t know. It depends on them. Once they stick a red paper notice on your door you have to move within ten days. Then they start demolition, regardless of whether there are still people living inside.

With 1.5 million yuan [$244,000] I could only go to the suburbs. But life is not convenient in the suburbs. My mother and mother-in-law need to go to hospital often; here we have the Number Nine Hospital close by. A house is for people to live in, not for decoration. Better facilities mean nothing to me.Could you find a new job nearer the suburbs?
I’ve worked at my job for over 40 years. Now, at my age, how can I find a new job? It’s impossible.Does the violence reported in the area concern you?
I have only my life to lose. Whenever I think of that, I have no fear. There’s no one to depend on; I only rely on myself. I have this one life to fight against them. If death is the final result, so be it.Has the crisis brought the remaining community closer?
No. They divided us. Some people give in for a house, some for a certain amount of money.
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Ge Bao Ling: They proposed to give me a new shop so I could maintain my livelihood. But they didn’t give me the shop. I resorted to court; my house was torn down during that period. The reply came from the State Council in April, but that might be a fake one.What happened on the day the shop was taken?
They came on December 26, 2013, at 1:30 PM. They drove my wife and son out; my wife’s feet got injured. They started demolishing right away. My son has hepatitis B, so he can’t find another job; we relied on the shop. What they did was inhumane. I'm willing to move, but the shop put food on the table.But you’ve kept fighting for a new shop?
I wrote to the Legal Affairs Office in Beijing—they said they were going to find me a shop. On December 17 they told me they’d found me one. I waited for them to come to me but they didn’t show up. On December 20 I got a notice; I went to all relevant departments in Shanghai but nobody intervened. On December 30 a policeman came and told me that I had done nothing wrong and that they would solve my problem. But nothing happened after that. The goods in my shop all went missing.Where are you living now?
I borrowed a house from my parents. It’s small and near to this area.
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I haven’t got the compensation. I am still waiting.

Zuo Lian Ying: Life was normal. It’s very convenient here, with hospitals nearby. I'm disabled. I have a certificate for that. I have problems with my eyes; I should be protected.When were you evicted?
The demolition took place on June 18. My husband was prepared to jump from the building [in protest]. At 6 AM the next day they surrounded my house, just like the Japanese used to during wartime. After that people came in and started beating people up. I was injured on my arms, hands and feet. I’ve kept the clothes with bloodstains on them.Where are you living now?
I’m homeless, so I stay at relatives’ houses. My stuff got lost in the demolition process; everything we had in the house is now missing. We were kicked out of our house without shoes on.But you have been given compensation…
They offered 1.5 million yuan, but that's not enough even for a toilet.Why not just buy a house in a cheaper area?
The nature of this demolition is commercial. They should negotiate a price with us. They only gave us 23,000 ($3,700) per square meter. Filthily huge profit margin.

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Ms Gan: I was young, so I wasn't really against it. If the government wanted to improve our living conditions, I could accept that. But what distinguishes this neighborhood from others is that the neighbors are friendly to each other. This makes me feel a little bit sad.You don’t seem as angry as some residents. Why has your family not accepted relocation?
The nature of this is commercial. If I can't buy a house in a similar area with the price they offer, how do they expect me to accept it? Asking me to move to places that are so far away with insufficient and inconvenient transportation… what would I do if my mom or grandma required medical help?How have you protested?
We played music from the house to voice our discontent. We were harassed many times. Later we dropped it because we were concerned it might evolve into something out of control. The police said that someone across the street complained. We asked them to measure the volume; after that they could come to us with evidence. Instead, they cut off our electricity. Now our house will be torn down within one or two months.

People in the demolition company are like hooligans. If they can't fool you into moving they threaten you. Violence does happen. During forced demolitions they would deploy migrant workers to surround the houses to be torn down.How do you feel about moving away?
I’m still talking frequently to my former neighbors. I have a good friend who was my neighbor; she was like my big sister. Our relationship goes deeper than many real siblings’. The night before she moved we had a long night of talking about shared memories. Sometimes when I'm brushing my teeth I can’t help but imagining how wonderful it would be if there hadn't been a plan to tear down the house. Our house is bright and fresh air can come in easily. Once there was a film shooting team who chose to film here. We have a very big balcony; sometimes in the summer we didn’t turn on the AC—we could sit on the balcony and feel the cool breeze.Follow Jamie Fullerton on Twitter.