Hebei demolishes illegal villas on mountainside

The government of Shijiazhuang, Hebei province, is tearing down illegal buildings on a mountain slope, after media reports disclosed problems with an unapproved villa project.

Covering an area of about 1.2 million square meters and including more than 700 villas and supporting facilities, the project had been built and villas sold without authorization, according to a report by China Real Estate Business on Monday.

The Shijiazhuang government had sent a team to investigate, Hebei Daily reported, and as of Tuesday afternoon, 10 of 24 illegal buildings covering 12,667 square meters had been demolished. The team will continue to remove illegal structures while the investigation moves forward.