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The House in the Middle of the Street

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After this week's earlier entry, Chinese Architecture, Old and New, I just had to run this short follow-up. Homeowners Luo Baogen and his wife refused to allow the government to demolish their home in Wenling, Zhejiang province, China, claiming the relocation compensation offered would not be enough to cover the cost of rebuilding. So, adjacent neighboring homes were dismantled, and, bizarrely, the road was built around the intact home, leaving it as an island in a river of new asphalt. [3 photos]

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A car stops beside a house in the middle of a newly built road in Wenling, Zhejiang province, November 22, 2012. An elderly couple refused to sign an agreement to allow their house to be demolished. They say that compensation offered is not enough to cover rebuilding costs, according to local media. (Reuters/China Daily)
A car stops beside a house in the middle of a newly built road in Wenling, Zhejiang province, November 22, 2012. An elderly couple refused to sign an agreement to allow their house to be demolished. They say that compensation offered is not enough to cover rebuilding costs, according to local media. (Reuters/China Daily)
2
A homeowner looks down from his house which stands alone in the middle of a newly built road in Wenling, Zhejiang province, on November 22, 2012. (Reuters/China Daily) #
3
A car drives past the recently-stranded home in Wenling, on November 22, 2012. (Reuters/China Daily) #

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