Beijing flat owner given 15 days to remove giant rooftop structure
Beijing authorities have given an ultimatum to the owner of a massive illegal rooftop structure: it goes in 15 days or will be torn down - fake rocks, greenhouse and all.
Beijing authorities have given an ultimatum to the owner of a massive illegal rooftop structure: it goes in 15 days or will be torn down - fake rocks, greenhouse and all.
But the owner, acupuncturist Zhang Biqing, defiantly defended his flamboyant 26th-storey creation, even as it became the source of global marvel and ridicule.
He told the newspaper that he was willing to remove part of the structure, including a glass house and some vine creepers. But he wanted authorities to allow him to keep the sprawling fake rocks, which he claimed helped to insulate the building against heat.
The bizarre structure, dominating the high-end Park View residential compound in Haidian district, has become a national talking point after photographs of it were published.
The ultimatum was issued on Monday by the Beijing Municipal Bureau of City Administration and Law Enforcement. The total area of the illegal structure exceeded 800 square metres, the authorities said.
Zhang has said that law enforcers had been aware of the structure since 2008 and had raised no objection. In an interview with the , Zhang said he would not have built the structure without permission from officials.
"When I began construction, the city administrators came to the site for an inspection," said Zhang, who is the founder of a chain of acupuncture clinics called Qi Jin Tang. "They agreed that I am a good man. I cure neighbours and the friends of neighbours for free."
But Chen Yu , deputy director with the city administration's Zizhuyuan branch, told they had had no contact with Zhang.
"The biggest challenge is to get inside," Chen was quoted by the newspaper as saying. Law enforcers had never stepped into Zhang's apartment because he had never let them in, Chen said.
"Once we staged a one-week ambush at an underground parking lot but he did not appear," Chen said.
Without an inspection, the authorities could not determine the precise area of the illegal structure. Without this knowledge, they could not issue Zhang an ultimatum, Chen said, adding that the 800 square metre figure they used in Monday's ultimatum was an estimate from external observation.
The project has prompted protests from many neighbours. The complaints, dating back to as early as 2007, were mostly about noise and leaking water.
But Lan Yuezhong , a 77-year-old neighbour, said Zhang had physically abused him three times for filing complaints with authorities, the said.
Zhang said Lan was trying to extort money from him and, in any case, they were both too old to fight. Lan could not be reached for comment because he has moved out of the building.
