Shenzhen couple may get millions for demolished home

The couple ended a one-year battle to protect their seven-story brick building, now surrounded by a bare excavation site that developer Shenzhen Kingkey Group expects to become a financial center, including a 439-meter (1,440 ft.) skyscraper, Xinhua reported.

Xinhua said the couple, Cai Zhuxiang and Zhang Lianhao, had refused to give details about the compensation, but the figure was believed to be between 10 million and 20 million yuan.

Chinese media have recently seized on disputes between developers and owners of so-called “nail houses,” whose owners have stuck to their ground and resisted demolition, holding up development projects in the world’s fastest-growing major economy.

In April, a Chinese couple in the southwest city of Chongqing ended a three-year standoff with a mall developer after accepting an apartment the same size as their demolished residence, according to a report at that time by Xinhua.

Their demand for 5 million yuan in compensation and a similar-sized house had been rejected, although the news agency did not say whether the final deal included a cash payment.

Their struggle had catapulted them to celebrity status as champions of housing rights amid the country’s headlong rush to development.

Xinhua on Sunday cited local media reports of three other negotiations under way between developers and nail house owners.

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