8. Narita, Japan Farmers
In Narita, Japan, a collection of farmers took umbrage to the fact that their lands happened to coincide with the exact place that the government wanted to construct an airport. Tempers flared and tensions reached an all-time high, resulting in the farmer’s attacking workers, ultimately resulting in several deaths. To this day, an uneasy truce exists around the airport.
7. Guangzhou, China Apartments
Sometimes, though rarely, the indomitable will of those who refuse to sell actually overcomes the wheel of progress. This building in Guangzhou exasperated the construction company with their stubbornness so much that the highway was simply constructed around the building. Though the view is doubtless marred from how it used to be, at least the residents of this building can say they still have their home.
6. Speighalter’s Jewelry Store
Though many of the world’s most famous home holdouts reside in China, occasionally even cheery old England will find a stalwart defender of property. Speighalter’s Jewelry Store in London has refused to sell its prime location for over 100 years and is now surrounded on all sides by the Wickham’s Department Store.
5. A Chinese Farmer
Another day, another major Chinese highway planned to go right through someone’s farmland. Ye Tan and his wife, however, had other plans. They eventually held out and the road was constructed around their home in one of the few examples of a home holdout going well for those who live within. Today the road circles around their meager farm and the couple have a grim satisfaction from their accomplishment.
4. Chongqing, China
Sometimes the owners of homes on prime property are less concerned about their house and more concerned with their wallet, such as this home in Chongqing. The owner, Yang Wu, had no problem selling his home – but he wanted more money! In the end, he only received a modest sum and the house was ultimately demolished.
3. Yichang, China
In a brazen attempt to get a Chinese man to move out of his home, which sits on prime real estate in Yichang, a construction company built up the land around his home, effectively making his house resided in a hole in the ground. The water and electricity was eventually cut off to his home and he temporarily moved away. His resilience, however, proved strong and he moved back in shortly after.
2. The “Nail Grave”
Sometimes, the property in question doesn’t even have a house built on it, like this plot of land in Japan. Instead, the owner of the land has family buried here, and felt that the selling of the land would be a desecration to their memory. This plot was dubbed the “nail grave.”
1. Yonjia Apartment Building
In 2015, an apartment building in Yonjia, China refused to sell out to a company that hoped to build a road right through their home. The resilient property owners were steadfast, however, and the city spent $15 million dollars to construct a four-lane road around their building. Way to stick it to the man!
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