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Homebuyers in China were promised ‘park views’ ... the property company built a plastic lake

  • Owners of flats in a new residential complex in Changsha were less than impressed with the development when they collected their keys on the weekend

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An outdoor area is covered in plastic to suggest a lake at a property development in Changsha, Hunan province. Photo: Weibo
Mandy Zuoin Shanghai

Homebuyers promised “park views” in a new residential development were in for a shock on the weekend when they picked up the keys to their flats in central China.

Instead of the “high vegetation cover” and “park lifestyle” the real estate developer promised, the new owners discovered a public area covered in a blue plastic material to look like a lake and a small timber bridge on the paving, Hunan Satellite TV’s City Channel reported on Sunday.

“So I’m supposed to be standing in the middle of blue water, which in fact doesn’t exist. There is no rock or plants,” one owner said.

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In a larger area, grass block paving, covered with yellow mud and dotted with withered turf blanketed an area that should have been grass.

“We’re very unhappy about these grass block pavers. They’re usually used for driveways or car parks,” another disgruntled homeowner said, adding that they posed a danger to children and the elderly.

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“But this is not the car park area. It’s the open area right outside each building gate, and they call it vegetation.”

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