Rectification of real estate around Dianchi Lake is in progress: illegal villas were demolished, and the viewing group wanted to pick up the leaks

Faced with the devastated rectification scene, a Wenzhou property viewing group was calculating the prospects for real estate appreciation: "The villa in front was bulldozed, and trees will be planted in the future. The view of the residence in the back will become better. This is good for housing!”

On May 17, 2021, the house viewing group came to Changyao Mountain on the southeast bank of Dianchi Lake in Kunming, Yunnan. A real estate project called "Famous Ancient Dian City" was built on this once lush hill. It was criticized by the Central Environmental Protection Inspection Team and the media described it as "the waist of Dianchi Lake has disappeared."

On May 6, the Eighth Central Ecological and Environmental Protection Supervision Group reported that the phenomena of "development around the lake" and "development along the line" in Dianchi Lake are prominent. Subsequently, Kunming began large-scale rectification of some real estate projects and illegal buildings around Dianchi Lake.

Some people feel desperate, while others see business opportunities. The owners of the demolished villas are anxiously waiting for compensation, while the house viewers want to take advantage of the opportunity to buy the "out-of-print" lake view houses that "saved the disaster". However, real estate sales have been suspended, and viewing groups can only "wait and see" for the time being.

Dianchi Lake pollution control has lasted for decades and is getting better year by year. The inspection team's report pointed out that the local party committee and government "only calculate small accounts, not big accounts, only immediate accounts, not long-term accounts." "Development around the lake" has always been an important strategy of Kunming City. Can houses be built next to Dian Lake? After the inspection team’s report, Kunming Municipal Party Committee Deputy Secretary and Mayor Liu Jiachen said that the “lake revolution” will be further promoted and the pattern of “development around the lake” and “city building around the lake” will be completely changed.

Along the winding mountain road, the commercial vehicle of the Wenzhou house viewing group went directly to the top of Changyao Mountain. On the south side of the highway is a large area of ??high-rise residential buildings that have been temporarily suspended, with tower cranes hanging alone in mid-air; on the north side of the highway, on the hillside facing Dianchi Lake, excavators and bulldozers are working in full swing, working together to knock down villas one after another.

The inspection team reported that Changyao Mountain has turned into a "cement mountain" and has basically lost its ecological conservation function. Only half a month after the notification, nearly 300,000 pine saplings have been neatly planted on the northern slope of Changyao Mountain, which was once filled with villas and concrete, from the top of the mountain to the Dianchi Lake. However, the low and sparse saplings cannot block the large area of ??exposed areas. of loess.

There were five people in the Wenzhou viewing group, between 30 and 50 years old, wearing ordinary clothes. The team leader Zhu Bo (pseudonym) is from Wenzhou and settled in Kunming. He claims to be familiar with the top management of Kunming Nuostar Group, the developer of the famous ancient Yunnan city.

Zhu Bo has bought a house in the "Yunling" community on the top of Changyao Mountain. After witnessing the grand rectification scene at the foot of the mountain, he stood in his community and announced excitedly to the members of the viewing group, "The price is going to increase, so hurry up." His logic is that the second phase of "Yunling" should not be demolished. In the future, Kunming will no longer have real estate so close to Dianchi Lake, "so it is a scarce resource. Moreover, the demolition of villas and the restoration of vegetation will undoubtedly be good for the owners of Yunling (such a high-rise building)." The group members expressed their conviction.

From north to south, the slender Dianchi Lake looks like a crescent moon. Along the banks of Dianchi Lake, there are some hills with low altitude and some flat rivers.

According to the "Yunnan Province Dianchi Protection Regulations", 100 meters away from the water surface of Dianchi Lake is a first-level protected area, and new construction, reconstruction, and expansion of buildings and structures are prohibited; the side of the mountain facing Dianchi Lake is a second-level protected area , only eco-tourism, cultural and other construction projects such as health care, fitness and leisure can be developed and constructed, and other real estate projects are prohibited from being developed and constructed; outside the first- and second-level protected areas, the area within the watershed of the Dianchi Lake Basin is a third-level protected area, and construction of serious pollution is not allowed Environmental production projects.

Changyao Mountain, located on the southeast coast of Dianchi Lake, belongs to the second-level protected area. The inspection team verified that the real estate certificate of the villa on Changyao Mountain is "market-oriented commercial housing" and is not a health care project as claimed to the outside world. In fact, it is a The name of the health and elderly care industry is the reality of real estate development.

According to the latest news from the Kunming Municipal Government, as of May 25, 47 buildings under construction to the north of the ridgeline (facing the Dian area) in the Changyao Mountain Dianchi Secondary Reserve have been demolished and have been demolished. The 36 buildings built are being demolished. All projects in the third-level protected area of ??Changyao Mountain Dianchi Lake have been suspended from construction and sale. Based on the evaluation opinions, rectification suggestions will be put forward by category.

The second phase of "Yunling", which Zhu Bo is optimistic about, is located on the ridgeline and south slope, just stuck at the junction of the second-level and third-level protected areas. There is no accurate information on whether it will be demolished. When the viewing group arrived at the sales department to confirm their intention to buy a house, the real estate salesperson bluntly stated that during the rectification period, the properties on Changyao Mountain were not allowed to be sold, and they would not be informed when sales would resume. This made Zhu Bo a little embarrassed.

Zhu Bo is not the only one who is gearing up to welcome the "rectification dividend". Many real estate salespeople have said that housing prices are likely to rise in the future.

Although only the famous ancient Dian city was named by the central environmental protection inspection team, this property is not the only one undergoing renovations by the Dian Lake.

On May 18, Mr. Zheng and his family, who bought a villa in the "Nanwan Future City" project on the south bank of Dianchi Lake, were standing under the scorching sunshine at noon, 16 kilometers away from the famous ancient city of Dian. Waiting for a sightseeing bus to take them to the "Art Exhibition Center" of the building. They heard that some villas were to be demolished in the "Nanwan Future City" and could not contact the salesperson at the time, so they had to make a special trip here to "see the situation and ask for an explanation."

The security guard in the parking lot explained to Mr. Zheng and his family that the sales department has been cancelled, and only the "Art Exhibition Center" has people to receive them.

The "Art Exhibition Center" is one kilometer away from the entrance of the building. It is a pure white modern building. Outside the bright floor-to-ceiling window, the infinity swimming pool faces the vast Dianchi Lake; inside the window, dozens of white leather chairs are occupied by people in twos and threes, but there is no salesperson to be seen.

Among the crowds gathered here are many property owners like Mr. Zheng who are "asking for explanation", as well as elderly tourists wearing red tourist hats - this building that is being renovated and demolished has a good view overlooking Dianchi Lake. Listed as one of the free attractions on cheap day tours.

Outside the "Art Exhibition Center", tourists taking selfies saying "yeah" in front of the flowers and meadows, the bright Dianchi Lake and the yellow excavator under construction all together form a wonderful scene. Part of the villa has been demolished, and construction workers are bulldozing the foundation and planting saplings. They have remained silent on the progress of the demolition.

There is a panoramic sand table of "Nanwan Future City" in the "Art Exhibition Center". The notice next to the sand table states that visitors are not allowed to take pictures of the renovation site or the sand table, nor are they allowed to use drones. If anyone dissuades you, the staff has the right to inspect and delete the relevant photos.

Outside the "Art Exhibition Center", tourists taking selfies saying "yeah" in front of the flowers and meadows, the bright Dianchi Lake and the yellow excavator under construction all together form a wonderful scene. (Southern Weekend Yang Kaiqi/Photo)

Staff who stayed at the "Art Exhibition Center" said that "Nanwan Future City" is undergoing rectification and has stopped selling, so the sales staff have withdrawn. "Before leaving, they said they would pay for it this time."

This is just the tip of the iceberg. The WeChat public account "Shuimu in Kunming" has sorted out the "line development" properties around Dianchi Lake, and there are as many as 14 of them.

Most of the properties that have not been rectified are because they are located in a third-level protected area - the Dianchi Lake coast with a flat plain and no hills. The Dianchi Lake Protection Regulations do not clearly stipulate the properties in the third-level protected area.

"There will basically be no villas so close to Dianchi Lake in the future." The staff of Hubin Peninsula·Shanhaihui said that there are 120 villas in the first phase of Hubin Peninsula, and more than ten households have already moved in. More than 40 households are being renovated.

Viewing a house in Lakeside Peninsula·Shanhaihui is not easy. The above-mentioned staff said that they do not accept individual visitors, and viewings must make an appointment. Because "this is a commercial land, which is quite special, so it is not said to be a residence to the outside world, only a hotel." He introduced that the villas in this property only have 40-year property rights, but they can be sold for a high price of 50,000 yuan per square meter.

Villas are built on commercial plots, which is an open secret in real estate development along the Dianchi Lake. On the one hand, some owners do use the villas for commercial purposes, such as buying them as offices or B&Bs. For B&Bs, "the developer will provide a series of services accordingly." On the other hand, these villas are not prohibited from self-occupation, thus attracting buyers with self-occupation needs.

Changyaoshan Villa also has similar borderline behavior. In the environmental impact assessment report of the villas that have been demolished, they are called "clubs" and they are commercial land with 40-year property rights. Since 1995, the state has issued a series of policies prohibiting the supply of land for high-end villa real estate, commonly known as the "Villa Restriction Order." However, in the real market, it has evolved into word games like "courtyard" and "garden house".

In the impression of old Kunming people, 20 years ago, the edge of Dian Lake was mainly villages and factories. Much of the surrounding land was filled in by reclaiming land from the lake in the last century. The foundation was soft and the supporting facilities were poor. They did not recognize the Ring of Dian Lake. The residential value of the location.

Why are so many real estate projects suddenly popping up around Dianchi Lake?

The inspection team reported that in 2018, the Standing Committee of the Yunnan People's Congress revised the "Dianchi Lake Protection Regulations" to stipulate that ecological tourism and cultural projects such as health care, elderly care, fitness and leisure can be built in the restricted construction area of ??the Dianchi Lake secondary protection zone. This makes Nuostar Group "borrow the donkey from the slope" and build villas unscrupulously under the guise of the health and elderly care industry.

Concepts such as "wellness", "cultural tourism" and "residence" are extremely popular, but no one can draw a clear boundary for this "broad road".

An interview with the "Famous Ancient Dian City" in September 2020 revealed that the "Famous Ancient Dian City" project was first established by the Kunming Municipal Government and then sought investment from developers. "At that time, the government asked me to invest in the project of building an ancient Yunnan city. To be honest, I had no idea at all. I thought about it for a long time. I can't remember how many times I visited the project site. At that time, the land was full of garbage and overgrown with weeds. , whether it can be done is unknown," Ren Huaican, chairman of Nuostar, said in the above interview.

With the "four retreats and three returns" project, the construction of the road around the lake, the relocation of industries, and the gradual improvement of infrastructure, more and more land is available around Dianchi Lake. Kunming City then proposed concepts such as "Geneva of the East", "One Lake and Four Areas", and "Kunming Southward".

The "four retreats and three returns" project means "returning farmland, ponds, houses and people" + "returning lakes, forests and wetlands". Kunming has also introduced wetland park management regulations, aiming to create a 60,000-acre wetland park beside Dianchi Lake to beautify the urban landscape.

Some of these wetland parks are financed by financial investment, but the government also welcomes developers to contribute money, such as the "Ancient Dian Boutique Wetland Park" invested by Nostar (close to Changyaoshan Villa), and the Xinghai Peninsula Lakeside Park implemented by Yunnan Urban Investment Investment Ecological wetland (close to the Lakeside Peninsula·Mountain and Sea), the 2,000-acre wetland park under construction in Sunac Cultural Tourism City, etc.

He Mang believes that cultural tourism and health care projects have a natural driving force to be close to scenic spots. For this reason, some developers are willing to take risks and skirt around the edges and "develop close to the line." "In these projects, those who step on the red line will definitely be cleared out, but there is still controversy in the industry as to whether large-scale buildings can be built in the buffer zone outside the red line. It should be said that if it is done strictly in accordance with the country's existing planning and scope, it will be This problem can be avoided. "

"But now the profit margin of real estate is also shrinking. If health care and cultural tourism rely on feedback for a long time, this model is unsustainable and the industry is exploring and cultivating new business formats. ." He Mang said.

In Kunming, there are people who applaud the demolition of villas, and there are also people who regret it. Many citizens have expressed whether well-built villas can be used for public welfare instead of being demolished.

Zhu Bo, who has lived in Europe, believes that lakes and real estate are not completely incompatible. He gave an example. Lake Geneva and Dianchi Lake in Switzerland are both plateau lakes, but the urban area of ??Geneva is basically developed along the lake. "The lake water is still clear and blue."

In China, it is not uncommon for cities to be developed around lakes. Wuhan East Lake and Hangzhou West Lake are both typical "urban lakes". Chaohu City in Anhui Province is "a city founded on lakes", with dense population around the lakes. Guo Zihang recalled that at the beginning of this century there was a discussion in Kunming about whether to regard Dianchi Lake as an urban lake.

Duan Changqun believes that Dianchi Lake, as a plateau lake, is different from "flood-type" lakes such as East Lake, Taihu Lake, and Chaohu Lake. Flood lakes are replenished by floods every year, the water body renewal cycle is very fast, and the self-purification function is strong. Plateau lakes, on the other hand, can only rely on rainfall and limited surface runoff in the catchment area. They have relatively small amounts of water resources, limited self-purification capabilities, and are more susceptible to the impact of production and domestic sewage.

Since the 1950s, with the expansion of Kunming’s population and the development of industry and agriculture, the water quality of Dianchi Lake has been deteriorating. After 30 years of treatment, the water quality of Dianchi Lake has improved, but real estate development has followed.

Duan Changqun said that the development around lakes in cities in developed countries such as Europe, the United States, and Japan is often caused by historical reasons, and is now strictly managed and controlled. Most of them are adjusted during development, and relocation is unreasonable. , industries with a large negative impact. Because as the population and city scale continue to grow, the impact on lakes will be greater and greater. Even with the most advanced technology and management systems, it is impossible to achieve zero pollution.

He introduced that Dianchi Lake and the surrounding forests, grasslands, and wetlands form an integral ecosystem. The water intercepted and replenished to Dianchi Lake through these natural systems is clean and good water, and if the lakeside area If they are all hardened, they will not have the function of conserving and purifying water sources. "It is necessary to leave enough buffer zones for lakes to carry out water-land exchanges. I have always advocated the layout of distant lakes, development away from the lake, borrowing lakes for viewing, and people-to-lake synergy."

After the rectification and lessons learned, Kunming citizens have speculated about Dianchi Lake The red line of the protected area may be further expanded. It is reported that the area restricting real estate development will be expanded to within 500 meters of Dianchi Lake. Duan Changqun also believes that the original Dianchi Lake Protection Regulations have their limitations - the regulations were proposed during the "life-saving" stage of Dianchi Lake, and the primary goal was to remove pollution sources around Dianchi Lake. Now that Dianchi Lake has entered the "recuperation" stage, it is necessary to free up space for the lake to recuperate. "Just like a patient who has just come out of the ICU, let him have a place to take a walk and get some fresh air.

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