Extravagant tomb replica of Temple of Heaven appears in Hubei
Luxury tomb criticised by local residents for taking up valuable land
A unlikely tomb, styled as a replica of the famous Temple of Heaven, has appeared in Hubei province and is generating controversy among residents opposed to such excess.
Peng told reporters the tomb was completely legal, had gone through a rigorous approval process, and was being built on land that had formerly been under used. Neighbouring farmers disagreed, claiming the project’s construction is stealing valuable arable resources and disrupting crop irrigation.
“[My fields] will completely dry out and die,” villager Wang Hongli told reporters, pointing out to his cotton fields which were suffering from a year’s drought and had been cut off from irrigation canals because of the tomb’s construction. Wang also said the tomb had taken away at least seven subdivisions of the hectare of land owned by him and his family.
Wang’s troubles are shared by other farmers in the region, who said that while they had been compensated for giving up their land at a rate of roughly 16,600 yuan (HK$ 21,000) per mu (1/16 of a hectare), farming was ultimately more important to them than money.