Huang Ping now regrets not accepting the government’s relocation conditions – and feels like he has “lost a big bet” – following the showdown in Jinxi in China
A defiant grandfather refused to move out of his home – so workmen built a motorway around it.
Huang Ping said he now regrets not accepting the government’s relocation conditions. He said it feels like he has “lost a big bet”. Locals have dubbed Huang the “strongest nail house owner” in China.
He lives in the property with his 11-year-old grandson. When viewed from the air, the home resembles an eye. The roof of the house is almost level with the motorway that is currently under construction in Jinxi, southwest of Shanghai, China.
The motorway surrounding the two-storey home is expected to be opened in the spring. Dust continues to fill the air around the construction site, but that hasn’t stopped locals flocking to the area to take photos of the nail house.
Huang said he takes his grandson to the town centre to spend the day there before returning home when the builders have clocked off. He said the walls vibrate from time to time, but it’s quiet at night because the motorway is not yet open to traffic.
He fears what it will be like when the expressway is up and running. Huang said he now regrets not accepting the compensation package propose by the authorities.
He said they offered £178,245 (CNY 1.6 million) and two other properties, which was later increased to three. Huang stated: “If I could turn back time, I would agree to the demolition conditions they offered. Now it feels like I lost a big bet.” The homeowner added: “I regret it a bit.”
The secretary of the Jinxi County Party Committee previously said that Huang refused to relocate because he was dissatisfied with the government’s offer.
After a long period of fruitless negotiations, the authorities designed a bypass on both sides of Huang’s house to advance the motorway’s construction.