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Luo Baogen and his wife must have felt they were sitting pretty when they rejected government compensation for their apartment, saying it wouldn’t cover the cost of rebuilding somewhere else.

In any other jurisdiction their intransigence would probably trigger a lengthy court battle. But this was in China.

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The government forged ahead and built a four-lane highway, lapping the asphalt on either side of the five-storey apartment building in Xiazhangyang, a village in Zhejiang province.

The phenomenon is so common, it’s earned its own moniker: These structures are known as nail houses.

In this case, demolition experts took down most of the Luos’ building after the neighbours moved out.

But because the law makes it illegal to demolish a property by force without an agreement, they left enough retaining walls to keep the structure standing. This allows the elderly couple — Mr. Luo is 67, his wife 65 — to continue living there.