Chinese 'nail house' demolished

Chinese authorities have torn down a stubborn couple’s house after a three-year stand-off that captivated the nation.

Wu Ping and Yang Wu have been fighting off bulldozers in central Chongqing since 2004, when they were one of 280 households asked to make way for a redevelopment project in the booming south-western city of nearly 28 million.

Their two-storey brick building – perched precariously on a tower of land in the middle of a huge construction pit – was clawed into dust by an earth mover as a few dozen reporters and people looked on late last night, said witness Zhou Shuguang.

The demolition took about three hours, said Zhou, who photographed the event and posted the pictures to his blog.

State media and web commentators called the house “the coolest nail house ever,” because it stuck up like an errant nail that couldn’t be pulled out.

“Dingzihu” or “nail house,” also plays on a common, usually derogatory, Chinese phrase for troublemakers who stick up like nails and refuse to go along with government policies.

The couple’s resistance, however, has been portrayed by state media as heroic and chat rooms have been flooded with passionate declarations of support for the stubborn pair.

In recent weeks, Wu, the wife, met tirelessly with domestic and foreign media to publicise the couple’s fight for better compensation. Wu said earlier that she had been offered £130,000 in compensation or two higher floors in the planned complex – both of which she turned down because she wanted lower levels in the new building so she could run her restaurant.

The couple agreed to move into a similar-sized apartment elsewhere in Chongqing, Xinhua said.