Residents of a high-end apartment building in Beijing were completely oblivious to the fact that they were living above a whole colony of people.
A recent inspection revealed that roughly 400 people were living in cramped underground bunkers located directly underneath Julong Gardens in Beijing, Straits Times reports. Located near Workers' Stadium, Julong Gardens was one of the first high-end residential complexes to be built in the capital and is currently inhabited by numerous wealthy expats.
The structures are located above one of the many air raid shelters that were built in Beijing in the 1970s and ‘80s. Like so many underground bomb shelters in Beijing, the one below Julong Gardens was taken over by a slumlord who converted the shelters into tiny rooms and packed them with hundreds of people. The tenants, who were mostly migrant workers, inhabited the cramped rooms, which have no windows, proper ventilation or adequate emergency exits.
In some cases up to 36 beds were packed into a single room.
READ MORE: A Rare Glimpse into Beijing's Underground World
Residents claim that they had no idea about the underground slum, but many did notice that there seemed to be an increasing amount of unfamiliar faces in the complex.
The underground bunker is officially owned by the Beijing government, but it was likely subleased to someone at some point. It is currently unclear who exactly was renting out the rooms or if they were doing so legally.
Although renting out underground rooms is common practice in the capital, authorities have been clamping down on it in recent years. It is estimated that up to one million people inhabit Beijing's underground world.
This type of housing is popular among migrant workers and students, who often can’t afford Beijing’s increasingly expensive housing.
According to one resident, single rooms were rented for roughly RMB1,300 (USD264) per month.
[Image via BBC and Straits Times]
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