(Photo: How Hwee Young/EPA)
Zhang Biqing, a doctor who became wealthy by founding a medical clinic chain, spent $130,000 building a mountain home around his penthouse apartment in Beijing. He didn't get government permission first, so now officials want him to tear it down:
According to regulations, the district government has to order compulsory demolition of a building as soon as it is identified as illegal, Wang Qiang, a spokesman for the Beijing Commission of Housing and Urban-Rural Development told the English-language China Daily news site. [...]
Zhang, a doctor of Chinese medicine and the founder of a chain of medical clinics that offer acupuncture, told the Beijing Times newspaper Tuesday [link in Chinese] that he would demolish the alterations if requested.
He told the newspaper he spent $130,000 on the work, which he said was to make the rooftop pipework look prettier. He said the project began with a small number of plants and some bamboo, but that he was forced to add wooden structures to stop his additions from blowing away. Much of the rock-like edifice is actually painted wood, according to some reporters.
You can see more photos of the home at the link.
Link -via Daily Telegraph (warning: auto-sound)