'Underground' accommodations

Beijing strict policy against group renting – when many people rent and share one room – has led to an illegal industry, according to the Beijing Morning Post on Tuesday.

In the Chaoyangmen and Tianqiao neighborhoods of Beijing, group renting is reportedly rampant in sites such as underground parking lots and old air-raid shelters. The underground spaces are divided into smaller rooms then rented separately without any authorization.

The rooms, usually less than six square meters, cost several hundred yuan per month. The spaces are popular with low-paid migrant workers.