Lavish Chinese Villas Tumble to Make Room for Parks, Pandas

More than 600 lavish villas—some built in the 2,000-year-old style of the Han dynasty—were torn down near China’s Qinling Mountains south of Xi’an on land the government says should become a national park.

The large houses, worth at least $1 million each, were torn down starting in July on the orders of President Xi Jinping, who has vowed to build what he calls an “ecological civilization” with a plan that includes adding 10 new national parks.

The Qinling mountains are also home to 20 percent of the giant panda population, and China is taking steps to establish protected corridors linking parts of the threatened species’ habitat.

The area where the homes were demolished is often referred to as China’s “central green lungs,” for its location in the middle of the country and value as a natural air cleaning system. This isn’t the first time villas were demolished in the area since Xi came into office. At least 41 were removed in early 2013 and another 270 in a 2014 crackdown, but the latest removals are the most widespread.

Construction Allowed to Boost Tourism

Over the past decade, the central government restricted industrial and real estate development in the Qinling range and surrounding areas. Yet loopholes allowed for “moderate development for tourism.” Local governments, which generate revenue from land sales, used that to approve construction of expensive homes.

Dozens of craftsmen had spent five years working on classical Han architecture designs for some of the buildings, according to an Oct. 10 report from the Communist Party’s official newspaper, the People’s Daily.

“Many of these villas have been illegally built in the name of developing tourism,” a representative from a local real estate evaluation company, who didn’t want his name used out of concern about government repercussions, told Bloomberg Environment by phone. “Most were purchased by government officials and wealthy people. I’ve heard there will be no compensation for them.”

The Ministry of Ecology and Environment didn’t answer Bloomberg Environment’s queries about whether homeowners could appeal or would be compensated. State media reports indicated that more than 500 people were “punished” or “held accountable” for violations related to the construction of the villas over the past few years but gave no details.

Older Homes Also Demolished

A handful of residents complained in censored social media postings uncovered by Bloomberg Environment that some homes destroyed in the area weren’t expensive, but rather, parts of older established villages that had the required building permits and residence papers. Attempts to reach the authors of the postings were unsuccessful.

At hotels, restaurants, and schools near where the demolitions occurred, people contacted by Bloomberg Environment said they didn’t know enough or didn’t want to discuss what happened.

At Xi’an Yard, where at least six development projects were recently destroyed, average prices for properties were around $3.3 million, according to state media. CCTV showed drone footage of the demolitions on the national news. The project was a $55 million real estate development invested in by what is now Jiayuxuan Real Estate Co. Ltd., starting in 2014. Calls to the company weren’t answered.

None of the villas removed was on land that is officially part of the 26 nature reserves in the area.

On a recent report on the demolitions on CCTV, Chang Jiwen, vice-director-general of the Development and Research Center of the State Council, or national government, recommended speeding up regulations for setting up the national park.

A law establishing the national parks is expected to be reviewed by legislators by the end of the year and possibly approved by 2020.