Village houses stand in the way of an incomplete highway access ramp. Dongguan, 2018
“The countryside has reached a state of limbo: neither modern nor traditional, industrial nor agrarian, new nor old, rural nor urban.”
In the middle of a under-construction interchange on one of the highways connecting Guangzhou and Shenzhen a few houses prominently stand in the way of the completion of the project. Some are directly in the path of a elevated ramp, and another lies in the middle of a large roadway. While the exact details are not known regarding this circumstance, these houses are a specimen of the nail house phenomenon in China. Across the country and particularly in areas such as the rapidly urbanizing Pearl River Delta megaregion, cases such as this are not an uncommon sight.
A high rise development build around a nail house. Portland, 2017
A high rise development build around a nailhouse. Portland, 2017
Dongguan has seen rapid industrialization and urbanization in recent decades due to it’s location between the economic powerhouse of Guangzhou, Shenzhen and Hong Kong.[2] As villages, agricultural land and countryside spaces are consumed by urban development and public infrastructure projects to accommodate the developing economy, encounters with opposition of some form is unavoidable. The term “nail house” or “nail household” comes from the Chinese term 「钉子户」 and refers to the stubbornness of the household to relocate against the force of redevelopment or reallocation of land for public projects.[3] While cases of holdouts occur all over the world, the conspicuous visuals formed by nail houses has become a emblematic characteristic intricately connected to the swift expansion of urban spacial forms and a concept inherent with urbanization in China. The subject has received thorough examination as it indissoluble with the academic study of urban growth in China such as works by You-tien Hsing and David Wang [3].
A nail house in the middle of a multi-lane roadway, standing in the way of completion of the construction. Dongguan, 2018
Unfinished roadways blocked by occupied houses. Dongguan, 2018
When an area is appointed for urban renewal or roadway construction by the government (or a real estate developer backed by the government), the existing occupants are confronted with 「拆迁」 or “demolition and relocation”. Usually this is negotiated by the involved parties and the residents will seek an agreement with the best compensation.[3] While the compensation is usually acceptable to most villagers, there are always some who seek further compensation beyond what can be offered resulting in a standstill. According to David Wang the motivation is usually personal gain rather than an ideological resistance to development and change. [3]
The roadway is built as close to the resistant property as possible. Dongguan, 2018
A nail house in the middle of a multi-lane roadway, standing in the way of completion of the project. Dongguan, 2018
But it is prudent to not generalize the motivation for holdout households as it is often a individual decision based on their unique circumstances.[3] Wang also points out that the parties involved in relocation and compensation negotiations cannot be clearly simplified as victims of modern development or exploitative real estate developers as each situation is more complex and multifaceted.[3] Usually these holdouts are only individual players, but when entire villages are faced with redevelopment they can organize into potent antagonists to urban renewal such as the example of Xiancun[5] and Wukan[3] in Guangdong Province.
A small plot of crops occupies the land next to this nail house, Dongguan, 2018
“Given the imbalanced power relationships at play in property development and China’s deficient legal institutions, the physical occupation of disputed property is one of the few options available to villagers to keep themselves in the battle.”
When the nail households are not offered a satisfactory compensation package, they are willing to wait until it comes.[3] Sometimes this means they will “holdout” and endure unfavorable conditions for years as the buildings nearby are demolished and new construction proceeds just outside their doorstep.[6] This is often when the egregious collocation of incompatible spaces results in the dramatic images of small village houses surrounded by roads or high rise construction sites.[4] Households will emphasize their presence in the contested space by persevering with routine activities while at the same time fabricating barriers and reinforcing land use such as cultivating crops on every available parcel of land.
“Some nail house holds are lucky enough to occupy land in a strategic spot, and are persistent enough to effectively slow down construction, thus wresting better compensation packages for themselves. Nonetheless, very few known cases exist in which the logic of land-centered accumulation monopolized by development powers was altered[…]”
Decaying crane at a stalled construction site, Dongguan, 2018
- Bolchover J. Rural Urban Framework: Transforming the Chinese Countryside. Basel: Birkhäuser; 2014.
- Lin GCS. Peri-urbanism in Globalizing China: A Study of New Urbanism in Dongguan. Eurasian Geography and Economics. 2006;47(1):28-53.
- Wang DWD. Urban Villages in the New China: Case of Shenzhen. New York, NY: Palgrave Macmillan; 2016.
- Hsing Y. The Great Urban Transformation: Politics of Land and Property in China. New York: Oxford University Press; 2010.
- Al S, ed. Villages in the City: A Guide to South China’s Informal Settlements. Hong Kong : Honolulu: Hong Kong University Press; University of Hawaii Press; 2014.
- Shepard W. Ghost cities of China: the story of cities without people in the world’s most populated country. London: Zed Books; 2015.
- French HW. In China, Fight Over Development Creates a Star. The New York Times. Published March 26, 2007. Accessed August 2, 2022.