PHOTOS: Chinese Businessman Builds Mountain Atop Beijing Apartment Building

Zhang Biqing, a successful Chinese
businessman from Beijing, has spent the
last six years building a realistic-looking
two-story mountain villa atop a high
apartment building right in China’s
capital city.
Wouldn’t it be great if you could retreat
somewhere quiet and get away from it all,
without actually leaving your home?
That’s probably what Zhang Biqing, a
former government adviser turned
successful entrepreneur, thought when he
decided to build his dream mountain villa
at the top of a 26-floor apartment building
in Beijing’s upscale Park View estate.
During the six years it took to complete,
residents complained about the infernal
construction noise, but after seeing the
enormity of the complex covering the
entire top of their building, they began to
worry about structural damage. The
mountain in which Biqing’s villa appears
to be carved may be fake, but the
materials used to make it are reportedly
pretty heavy as well, and threaten to
weaken the residential building’s
resistance. It turns out the whole rooftop
project is illegal, as Zhang never received
the necessary planning permission for his
extreme dwelling, yet no one ever
bothered him about it until Chinese
newspapers recently covered the topic
sparking public outrage.
Apparently, Zhang Biqing, who prefers to
be called Professor Zhang, is a very well
connected character. According to the
South China Morning Post , he is “a
doctor of traditional Chinese medicine and
former member of a district People’s
Political Consultative Conference who
owns a national chain of acupuncture
clinics”. Confronted by reporters about
his housing issue and his neighbors’
complaints, the businessman said: “Since
I dare to live here, I am not worried about
complaints.” Other local newspapers
reported that residents who dared
complain about Biqing’s illegal structure
have suffered harassment and threats
from the owner. One 77-year-old man
has allegedly been beaten by Zhang a
number of times and eventually forced to
move.
The rooftop mountain complex features
real trees and shrubbery, a series of
walkways and giant ornaments. It’s pretty
impressive too look at. Unfortunately for
Zhang, it’s not going to be around for
much longer. The recent press coverage
made his audacity too difficult to ignore
and Beijing officials have decided to act.
They have given the Professor 15 days to
tear down his home, or they will do it for
him.