Chinese 'nail house' in the midst of two-lane highway goes viral

BEIJING: A 40-metre wide house in southern China has become an Internet sensation and tourist attraction after a two-lane road was built around it.

The homeowner told a local TV station in Guangdong province that she was unhappy with compensation offered by developers who were building the Haizhuyong Bridge, a roadway which crosses a small waterway in the city of Guangzhou.

Videos of the house, located in a central part of the megacity, went viral on Chinese social media after the bridge opened on Aug 3.

Footage shows a number of visitors exploring the area below the bridge, and the old house still standing.

The house is an example of a Chinese "nail house": structures that remain - like stubborn nails stuck in wood - when residents refuse to make way for major infrastructure projects.

Developers can be forced to build highways, bridges, and even other housing developments around them.