House prices 'harming building of harmony'

Housing and harmony have never been so closely connected at least in the eyes of researchers in the Chinese capital.

As the political hub of a country that promotes the strategy of "building a harmonious society", Beijing is among the top Chinese cities with the highest housing rates, a phenomenon which researchers yesterday said harmed harmony.

Beijing's housing price growth was the fastest among 70 major cities in China in October. Last month, it fell second only to Shenzhen, a booming southern city close to Hong Kong, according to the latest official statistics.