Homebuyers in China were promised ‘park views’... the developer built a plastic lake

HONG KONG — Homebuyers promised “park views” in a new residential development were in for a shock on the weekend when they picked up the keys to their flats in central China.

Instead of the “high vegetation cover” and “park lifestyle” the real estate developer promised, the new owners discovered a public area covered in a blue plastic material to look like a lake and a small timber bridge on the paving, Hunan Satellite TV’s City Channel reported.

“So I’m supposed to be standing in the middle of blue water, which in fact doesn’t exist. There is no rock or plants,” one owner said.

In a larger area, grass block paving, covered with yellow mud and dotted with withered turf blanketed an area that should have been grass.

“We’re very unhappy about these grass block pavers. They’re usually used for driveways or car parks,” another disgruntled homeowner said, adding that they posed a danger to children and the elderly.

“But this is not the car park area. It’s the open area right outside each building gate, and they call it vegetation.”

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The developer, Changsha Shiji Yujing Real Estate, responded that it had never promised an artificial lake inside the community, although its brochure suggested a natural idyll.

“The days pass slowly, as if you’ve fallen into Peach Blossom Land,” the promotional material read, referring to an ancient fable.

A company staff member said the grass block paving was built according to government standards. “We did so because we need to take into account both fire safety requirements and landscaping needs,” the employee said.

The subdistrict office administering the community had organised a meeting with representatives of the owners and would work with fire and urban planning departments to solve the issues, the report said. SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST