Wen Jiao, a 22-year-old unemployed Chinese, who is waiting for a breakthrough in her music career, lives in cramped quarters on the outskirts of Beijing.
This two-m-sq capsule apartment, which can only fit her bed and her laptop, is all Wen could afford, as monthly rent is just 250 yuan, or $50.
“Because of the high prices of housing. I have never thought of buying a house. The rental fees get more expensive as the housing prices soar– it’s extremely difficult for poor people like me. I can’t afford to rent a house. Even if I have a job, I can only make about 3,000 Yuan per month. One third of my salary will go to rental fees, so I feel very upset,” she said.
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The block has eight capsule apartments, but the building has no toilet.
According to Mr. Huang Rixin, the owner and designer of the compact housing, he conceptualized the plan to help those struggling with the escalating property and rental prices in Beijing.
“I hope we can get the real estate developers’ sympathy as the house prices are rocketing, and hope they realize that there are still lots of poor university graduate and poor people in need,” he said.
“I wish they can sometimes donate some of the high-priced houses they fail to sell and make them capsule apartments to rent out, it would benefit more people. I want to raise awareness and encourage people to use ingenuity.”
The urban property inflation in China surged to 11.7 percent in the year to March, and economists reckon the official figures seriously understate the extent of price increases.