Sanlitun street feels a crunch

Illegal extensions of buildings ripped down; result is a matter of opinion

The face-lift of a section of the Sanlitun area of Beijing has begun, with demolitions raising mixed feelings among foreigners and locals as a decades-old bar street will likely disappear.

Heavy equipment was busy on Monday knocking down dozens of illegal building additions that stretched from residential buildings on Tonglihou Street between the well-known Taikoo Li shopping malls.