A spacious 10 square meter alleyway is now on sale in Beijing for the low, low price of just 1.5 million RMB. While the amenities may leave something to be desired, you simply can’t beat the location.
That’s because it’s located near to one of Beijing’s top primary schools. In the past, we’ve seen people pay absolute fortunes for a small, cramped room because it was located near a good school in Beijing. But an alleyway? You can’t even live in that.
But the paperwork can say you do. The new owner of that prime piece of real estate can register their hukou at that address, which would then allow their kids to attend a prestigious primary school nearby. CCTV News explains that in the past few years, the Chinese government has required public schools to enroll pupils from designated areas, causing housing prices to skyrocket near good schools. The family need not actually live there, they just need to own the address, though sometimes even that is not enough.
This is why a well-placed alleyway can sell for a fortune. A good education comes with it.
By Amy Yang
[Images via Sohu]
Wednesday, July 18, 2018
© 2005-2018 Shanghaiist - China in bite-sized portions!
