Officials investigate villa in shape of temple

Updated: 2013-08-22 07:38

By Jin Haixing (China Daily)

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Officials investigate villa in shape of temple

Netizens said the temple-shaped villa on top of a 19-story apartment building in Shenzhen is the "most impressive" illegally constructed rooftop building to be exposed online. Lu Li / for China Daily

An investigation has been launched into a temple-shaped villa on top of an apartment building in Shenzhen, Guangdong province, a week after a massive rooftop structure in Beijing was ordered to be demolished.

Photos posted online of the villa showed features of a traditional Chinese-style temple with golden roof tiles and upturned eaves adorned with carvings of dragons and phoenixes.

Many Internet users said the construction was "most impressive" even in comparison to the controversial 800-square-meter luxury villa in Beijing that was ordered to be demolished on Aug 12.

The temple-shaped villa, that towers atop a 19-story apartment building in the Meijia Park community in Shenzhen, was built around 2005, according to the city's urban patrol officers, or chengguan.

Investigators met difficulty on Monday when they failed to reach the villa's owner for questioning concerning the lawful construction of the structure, said Liu Minxing, deputy head of the urban patrol officers on Shahe Street, where the community is located.

Liu told China Daily on Wednesday that urban patrol officers have made at least six unsuccessful attempts to contact the owner after officers received a tip from a whistle-blower on Aug 14. Officials did not receive any complaints prior to the tip from the whistle-blower, who police declined to identify to China Daily.

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