Quote Originally Posted by euphonius View Post
Incidentally, this same question applies to buyers of real estate in China. My apartment has a 70- or 90-year expiration on the land-use rights, and I don't think anyone knows as of now whether this will be rolled over for the future owners, or taken back by the state.
I'm sorry for going way off topic, but I read this and it sparked a question that's been sitting in the back of my mind for years. When they section off X-square meters of land and put up an apartment building, nobody actually owns "the land". What you do own is a concrete cubicle with a couple hundred other people stacked beside, under, and on top of you. Since no building in China will stand for more than 25-30 years, what happens 25 years from now when they condemn your apartment building and knock it down? Does anyone really believe or care about the 70 year ownership clause when there is no possible way that any apartment built in the last 20 years could possibly be standing 70 years down the road?



I'm terrified of the idea if buying property here, but the Shanghai license plate deal seems to make perfect sense.

Cheers!
ChinaV