Here’s a great idea…buy some 40’ x 8’ storage containers and put 10 of these apartments in each one.
Tiny rooms, called "capsules", which measure just 7ft 10in long, 6ft 6in tall and 4ft wide, are now being offered on the outskirts of Beijing for as little as $30 a month.
House prices in China's 70 major cities rose 11.7 percent year-on-year in March, the steepest gain in almost five years according to data published on Wednesday by China's National Bureau of Statistics.
The apartments, which come equipped with a bed and a desk, were opened by Huang Rixin, a 78-year-old retired engineer.
Mr Huang said his capsules were aimed what is known colloquially in China as the "ant tribe" – students and migrant workers who are crammed into dormitory rooms on the outskirts of major cities.
"I found there were six graduates living in three bunk beds in a room smaller than 10 square metres. My idea was to help these graduates live much comfortably than they do in the 'ant nest'," he said.
At the capsule apartments in the northwestern suburb of Haidian, Mr Huang's first tenant has already settled in, putting posters up on her wall and decorating her desk. "I was not very adjusted on the first day" 25-year-old Zhang Qi said, adding that her failure to bring a thick enough blanket had given her a sleepless first night.
However Ms Zhang, who earns about $525 a month working at an advertising agency, said she was happy to be saving money after giving up her previous apartment that cost $120 a month.
"This is my own space; you can put up your own photos, feels kind of successful. People are born equal; living here does not mean the future will not be good," she added.
