Man defies demolition orders

SURROUNDED by the rubble of demolished homes, Chen Tian-ming’s ramshackle tower of faded plyboards and contorted beams juts into the sky in south-western China, a teetering monument to one man’s stubbornness.

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Authorities razed most of Chen's village in Guizhou province in 2018 to build a lucrative tourist resort in a region known for its spectacular rice paddies and otherworldly mountain landscapes.

Chen, 42, refused to leave, and after the project faltered, defied a flurry of demolition notices to build his family’s humble stone bungalow higher and higher.