Chinese man probed for building underground house

BEIJING - A 64-year-old man who was building an underground house for his family has become a subject of a probe by authorities in China’s Henan province.

Chen Xinnian is now anxiously waiting for the results of the probe. He has been working on the house for about four years, China Daily reported Friday.

Chen’s dream for years has been to improve housing for his family, but he couldn’t afford the high costs.

He successfully dug a 50-sq-meter space, six meters below the ground, in his yard in Zhengzhou, capital of Henan.

“It is the first case of its kind in the city, and we are investigating,” said Wu, an official of the Zhengzhou bureau of urban and rural planning.

Zhao Liang, an official from the policy department of the local property management bureau, said building an underground storage area in rural areas is permitted, but in urban areas, this is forbidden because it might cause safety problems to neighbouring buildings.

Living in a shantytown about seven km from downtown Zhengzhou, Chen owns a big yard in front of his 20-sq-metre room.

“It’s quite hot in the summer to live in the bunkhouse and the roof leaks. I just wanted my daughters to live in a better place,” Chen told the daily.

A former mineworker, Chen said he came up with the idea four years ago.

“At the beginning, I told my wife about the idea, but she disagreed and said it’s too dangerous,” he said.

But Chen bought all the necessary tools, safety lamp and helmet, and started the project.

“Seeing that I was so dedicated to the construction, my wife began to assist me,” he said.

After nearly two years’ effort, a 50-sq-metre space was dug out, including an entrance hall, corridors and an eight-sq-meter decorated bedroom.

Chen built cement steps into the underground area, and an electrical line from his aboveground home into the underground area.

In the bedroom, walls are painted white, a bookcase and a loudspeaker are placed in front of a bed on which bedclothes are tidily piled.

Along the corridors, some scooped-out holes hold fresh vegetables and fruit.

“The temperature underground is only a little above 20 degrees centigrade in summer. It’s very cool,” Chen said.

Chen is father to two daughters. The elder one got married and moved out. The younger one who works as a migrant worker comes back home sometimes and lives in the underground bedroom.

“Two years ago, I heard the news from the local government that my (above-ground) house would be demolished and we would have to move out from here. So I almost stopped the underground construction,” he said.

But since then, he has not heard anything further from local officials about the proposed demolition.

Liu Shula, Chen’s wife, said the underground apartment has cost them only a bit more than 1,000 yuan ($147). “Most of the materials were given by others, or recycled waste materials,” she said.

“There’s no way that we can buy an apartment,” Chen said.