Chinese farmer loses home to highway
- 12 years ago
Demolition crews bring down a house in eastern China.
The home of farmer Luo Baogen became much more than a derelict structure he refused to sell to make way for a new road.
After Luo rejected the 42,000 dollar (USD - 260,000 yuan) compensation on offer, the state and the new road simply went around him.
His five-storey house in the middle of a highway in Zhejiang province became an Internet sensation in China.
When most local residents moved out four years ago to make way for the road, Luo's home became a "nail house", a building that stands on after others have been demolished.
The 67-year-old and his wife were finally convinced to join their neighbours over the weekend -- when local authorities sweetened the deal with a subsidy and two plots of land.
The home of farmer Luo Baogen became much more than a derelict structure he refused to sell to make way for a new road.
After Luo rejected the 42,000 dollar (USD - 260,000 yuan) compensation on offer, the state and the new road simply went around him.
His five-storey house in the middle of a highway in Zhejiang province became an Internet sensation in China.
When most local residents moved out four years ago to make way for the road, Luo's home became a "nail house", a building that stands on after others have been demolished.
The 67-year-old and his wife were finally convinced to join their neighbours over the weekend -- when local authorities sweetened the deal with a subsidy and two plots of land.