In China, authorities demolish a raised house with architecture reminiscent of a Miyazaki film

Chinese authorities have razed a rickety ten-story house, which had been threatened with demolition in recent years and had become an unusual tourist attraction in the southwest of the country, thanks to its architecture reminiscent of the fantastic world of Japanese director Hayao Miyazaki.

Its owner, Chen Tianming, 43, who provided the images of the demolition to AFP, spent nearly eight years and 200.000 yuan (about 25.000 euros) transforming his family's modest stone bungalow into a pyramidal maze of rickety stairwells, balconies and other additions.

The architectural form of the house has led various media outlets and tourists to compare it to the sets of "Howl's Moving Castle" and "Spirited Away," two famous animated films from Studio Ghibli.

It took local authorities only a few hours to demolish the entire building on Wednesday, with the exception of the ground floor, the man in his forties told AFP.

According to the authorities, the building did not have the required building permits and represented a potential danger.

"I have no regrets because regrets are useless," says Chen Tianming.

"I don't blame myself for not having been able to protect (the house, editor's note). The force that was working to destroy it was simply too powerful," he believes.

It was impossible to miss this structure made of faded plywood and wooden beams, towering over the surrounding farmland, as AFP was able to see during a visit last summer.

Illegal construction

On Wednesday morning, a dozen members of the local police and public security arrived at Chen Tianming's home before escorting him, along with his parents, and confiscating his phone, he says.

He was then detained in a local authority office until late in the evening.

In 2018, authorities razed most of Chen Tianming's home village of Xingyi in Guizhou province to build a lucrative tourist resort in the region known for its impressive terraced rice paddies and sublime mountain scenery.

He had refused to leave and, after the failure of the tourism project, had continued to raise the family bungalow, despite threats of demolition.

In August 2024, his house was deemed an illegal construction, which resulted in him being ordered to demolish the structure - with the exception of the original bungalow - within five days.

Despite his various legal appeals, Chen Tianming received a final notice on May 18 ordering him to leave the premises before 09:00 a.m. local time on Wednesday, and the planned demolition.

He is now seeking legal assistance to have the demolition declared illegal, thus giving him "a chance to restore" his house.