Do Chinese people own their house or apartments?
20 years ago, the answer is definitely “no”. Before the reform policy, Chinese people’s housing issues were looked after by their work union, the employers. If you work in a university, it was the university who provided the housing for you and your family. The size of the apartment depended on your position in the university. The higher your position was, the bigger your apartment was. The employees didn’t own the apartment. Now there are some commercial houses. The buyers will own the property. What is the situation now? The government has been making sustained efforts to provide housing for its huge population. In recent years not only has the number of buildings increased, but the average living area has grown. In 1978 the average living area per person in rural areas was 8.1 square metres. By 1990 that number had grown to 20.7 square metres. In urban areas living space grew from 3.6 square metres to 10.6 square metres in 1990. How is the situation for the low-income families? It i
