A handmade 10-storey home in south-western China, known online for its strange, storybook-like shape, has been demolished after a long dispute between its owner and local authorities.
The house stood in Xingyi, a village in Guizhou province, where Chen Tianming had spent years building upward from his family’s original stone bungalow. What began as a modest home became a stacked, pyramid-like structure of plywood rooms, narrow passages and improvised additions.
A Local Landmark Brought Down
Chen said officials took only a few hours to strip the building back to its original single-storey form. The 43-year-old told AFP he did not feel regret, saying regret would be useless, and described the force behind the demolition as too powerful to resist.
Over eight years, Chen had reportedly spent about 200,000 yuan, or roughly $29,000, expanding the family home. Visitors came to see the unusual structure, with some comparing its handmade complexity to the imagined worlds associated with Studio Ghibli co-founder Hayao Miyazaki.
Officials had described the structure as illegal and unsafe, citing missing building permits. Reports also described parts of the multi-storey home as being supported by bamboo scaffolding, though the full official record of the safety dispute has not been independently verified here.
Years Of Tension Over The Site
The dispute was tied to wider changes in Xingyi. Much of Chen’s home village was demolished in 2018 as officials pursued plans for a tourist resort in an area known for dramatic mountain scenery. Chen’s family refused to leave, and as the resort project faltered, he kept adding to the house.
In August 2024, authorities labelled the expanded home an illegal construction and ordered Chen to remove everything except the original bungalow. On 18 May, Xingyi officials issued a final notice telling Chen’s family to leave by 9am on Wednesday.
After that deadline passed, local law enforcement and public security officials escorted Chen and his parents away from the property. Chen said his phone was confiscated and that he was held while the demolition went ahead.
He later filmed the aftermath, showing piles of building materials scattered where the tall structure had stood. Chen said he is seeking legal help and hopes to have the forced demolition declared illegal.
If that happens, he said, he believes he may still have a chance to rebuild.