Living in China Comes With Some Risks

Despite what you see on tiktok or rednote, 
China isn’t that nice a place to live. 

Welcome to China Uncensored, I’m Chris Chappell.

Before we start the episode, remember we’re now 
in phase 2 of Operation Honey Pot. Don’t know what  

that means? I’ll link the episode below. And watch 
until the end for an Operation Honey Pot update. 

Imagine you’re walking through a tunnel

And on the other end is your dream 
home! A beautiful, two story house…

Located in the middle of a 
freeway. Yes this is real.

The owner didn’t want to sell his house  

to developers so they literally 
just built the road around it.  

You’d think they could have at least put ramps 
on the road so cars would safely fly over it. 

The owner says he regrets not selling it now.

Though apparently it does draw tourists. 

So this wasn’t as much an abuse of 
power by local authorities in cahoots  

with corrupt property developers, as it was an 
opportunity for an enterprising entrepreneur. 

This is what’s called a nail house. 

And yes, it happens so frequently there's 
a name for it. It’s called that because  

the houses stick up like an old rusty 
nail in an otherwise urban landscape  

because the owner refused to make way for 
development…perhaps being as tough and  

stubborn as an old nail. There’s some 
debate over the origin of the term.

China has seen rapid urbanization, a 
directive from the top of the Chinese  

Communist Party. And since local governments 
can’t charge taxes, working with developers  

through some unscrupulous land sales was 
a great way to rake in huge sums of cash. 

There are several notable “nail houses” in China,

Like this brick dwelling in the center of a plaza,

Or this mini-mansion in the middle of a road,

many of which have become tourist attractions.

Or, y’know, extra large planters. 

I also hate moving, but these 
folks took it to another level.

And that brings me back to 
the owner of this nail house. 

He’s a grandfather named Huang Ping, although he’s 
been nicknamed “the strongest nail house owner.”

Huang lives in Jinxi with 
his 11 year-old grandson,

but they spend a significant amount of time in  

the town center to avoid all 
of the construction noise.  

According to Huang, he was offered 
almost $220,000 to relocate,  

and also offered three other alternative 
homes, but he rejected all of these offers. 

So they just decided to build this 
massive motorway around his house. 

Huang has had time to reflect on his 
decision, and is now expressing regret,  

fearing the constant noise the 
motorway will bring once completed. 

He even told reporters that 
“If I could turn back time,  

I would agree to the demolition 
conditions they offered.”

And that “now it feels like I lost a big bet.”

He’s not alone, either.

Some of the owners of these nail houses ultimately 
ended up accepting compensation or alternative  

properties in exchange for demolition because they 
got tired of all the attention they were getting.

Or, y’know, being in the middle of a road.

Others held out for a long time, hoping 
for an even better compensation package  

from the authorities–which, as you 
can guess, didn’t go so well for them.

So why do these nail houses even exist? Why 
don’t the homeowners just take the money or  

alternative property and leave? Do they 
not have any friends they can trick into  

helping them move with promises 
of pizza and beer (corner box)?

Well, there are a couple of reasons, besides being 
attached to their homes like any normal person.

You can see how this, might 
have been bit more spacious than 

Living in one of these tiny apartments.

You know before the road. 
Residents say the new,  

smaller houses or high-rise apartments 
they are being moved into are either  

too far from their fields, too expensive, 
or ill-suited for their needs as farmers.

Others say that the offer 
they were given wasn’t fair. 

The issue is in China, the government owns all the 
land, whether in the countryside or big cities.

The way the Communist Party phrases 
that is that the people own all the  

land collectively. And since the 
Party represents the people, well…

You get stuff like this. The only reason 
these houses don’t get knocked down, like  

they used to, is that the central 
government has discouraged it.

So local officials and developers 
will “encourage” people to move.

Now this is important because we’ve had 
a bunch of Americans go on the Chinese  

controlled app TikTok, or now, even more 
stupidly, RedNote, get a bunch of Chinese  

propaganda videos and think everyone in 
China has the *right* to cheap housing!”

Well keep in mind almost 1 billion people in 
China live off less than 300 dollars a month.

And if you somehow manage to afford a home, 

This can happen to it.

And now, Operation Honey Pot. 

I told you in a special bonus China 
Uncensored episode about how YouTube  

claimed there was nothing wrong with my 
channel, and the reason I suddenly lost  

5 million views was just because people 
weren’t interested in my videos anymore. 

I wasn’t buying it. And you’ve proved 
YouTube wrong, with Operation Honey Pot. 

So many of you are telling me you’re finally 
seeing China Uncensored videos again. 

Great work, everyone! And remember, we’re in phase 
2 of Operation Honey Pot now. Which means we’re  

really targeting the algorithm. So there are 
three things I’m asking you to do: one, watch  

China Uncensored videos all the way to the end. 
Two, if you see one of my videos get recommended,  

please click on it. And three, keep liking 
my videos and leaving honey pot comments.  

Thank you, my 50-Cent Army. 
You’re the reason the show  

can continue. Now keep the honey pots flowing!