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.

- 

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.

He now presides over a bewildering 10-storey, pyramid-shaped warren of rickety staircases, balconies and other add-ons, drawing comparisons in Chinese media to the fantastical creations of legendary Japanese animator Hayao Miyazaki.