In 1997, the construction of a new community "Australian Villa" was started in a remote area of Guangzhou. Surrounded by mountains and rivers and with a beautiful environment, the developer is full of reputation for "having the quality of life in Australia".
Many people are eager to do so, including retired teacher Ma Minzhuang. Exhausted his life savings, Ma Minzhuang bought his "lifelong home".
Unexpectedly, just over a year after the construction of the community, the developer's capital chain was broken, and the entire project came to a standstill. Supporting facilities are gradually lost, law and order are withering, and the once lively "Australian Villa" has become an abandoned "ghost town".
For 26 years, Ma Minzhuang has been alone here, accompanied by snakes and insects, to prevent thieves. Now at the age of 91, she still stubbornly stays in this isolated place, unwilling to leave.
So, where does the stubbornness of this veteran teacher come from? What's the story behind it?
The statements in this article are based on reliable sources of information and are detailed at the end of the article. However, in order to improve the readability of the article, there may be polishing of the details, please read sensibly, for reference only!
1. Ma Minzhuang's life experience
Ma Minzhuang was born in Guangzhou in the thirties of the last century, and although his family was not wealthy, he was also well-off.
Her father was just an ordinary civil servant, and although the family of seven lived on a tight budget, they could barely make ends meet. No one expected that Ma Minzhuang's childhood was baptized by war, which added a lot of twists and turns to her life.
After the outbreak of the Anti-Japanese War, Japanese planes carried out many brutal bombings of Guangzhou.
Once, the primary school where Ma Minzhuang studied was hit by a critical attack, and the campus suddenly became a sea of fire. During the temporary evacuation, Ma Minzhuang, who was only 10 years old, got lost with his family and fled alone in the midst of artillery fire.
Walking through the war-torn streets and alleys, Ma Minzhuang shuttled through the city of Guangzhou alone, witnessing countless civilian casualties.
It wasn't until the end that she was spotted by the school staff, shivering in a deserted corner. Although unscathed, it also left an indelible shadow on this innocent child.
Even so, Ma Minzhuang did not give up his studies. On the contrary, her academic performance has always been among the best, and her excellent character and academic performance are unmatched. With her excellent performance, she was not only admitted to the best middle school in Guangzhou, but was later admitted to Sun Yat-sen University with excellent results.
After the founding of the People's Republic of China, Ma Minzhuang became the first batch of undergraduates and won the honor of being sent to Peking University for further study. In that era when intellectuals were scarce, Ma Minzhuang was already a pillar of the country.
After graduating with a master's degree in 1956, Ma Minzhuang could have chosen a lucrative and well-paying job, but she finally decided to heed the country's call to teach in the remote northwest.
During his tenure at Longdong Normal University, Ma Minzhuang cooperated with Mr. Shi Qizhen, a famous chemist in mainland China, and cultivated a large number of chemical talents for the country.
Despite the harsh environment and poor living conditions in Northwest China, Ma Minzhuang still taught diligently for 25 years and dedicated all his youth to the education of the motherland.
It was not until 1981 that Ma Minzhuang reluctantly left Lanzhou due to family affairs and returned to his beloved hometown of Guangzhou. Returning to the familiar city, she did not stop there, but joined Jinan University and continued to teach until her retirement.
2. Buy an Australian mountain lodge after retirement
After retiring, Ma Minzhuang wanted to enjoy his old age and live a leisurely life. But who would have thought that her later life would fall into a protracted nightmare.
In the early 90s of the last century, Guangzhou's real estate industry began to flourish, and various real estate projects sprung up like mushrooms after a rain.
One of the projects called "Australian Hills" is so famous that the developer has put it on its brochure and advertised that "living here is like being in Australia".
The Australian mountain resort is known as surrounded by mountains and rivers, and the environment is beautiful and picturesque. There are more mature commercial facilities in the community, with commercial streets, catering and entertainment facilities, and it is also very convenient to travel.
The developer also advocates building high-end facilities such as a hunting park, an entertainment world, a water resort, and an aristocratic school in the park, striving to make it one of the premier luxury residential communities in Guangzhou.
Ma Minzhuang, who was a retired teacher at that time, has undoubtedly longed for this kind of community that combines a noble environment and perfect facilities.
Although the housing prices in the community are a big expense for her, Ma Minzhuang still took out all her savings to make a down payment and took out a loan to buy a two-bedroom house, hoping to spend her old age here.
No one expected that Ma Minzhuang's later life would start a long nightmare.
3. The Australian mountain villa is in a state of disrepair
Less than two years after moving in, Ma Minzhuang began to experience the cold silence of "paradise on earth". The bus routes in Australian Hills began to decrease, and shops were closed one after another, and there was a depression.
All the supporting facilities that should have been spared were spared, and they disappeared one by one. Supermarkets, shopping malls, and entertainment venues are all closed, and there is no longer a single human population within a radius of several miles.
What saddened Ma Minzhuang the most was that even basic living facilities such as water and electricity supply began to be intermittent, and there were frequent water and power outages.
The root of everything lies in the real estate company that develops the Australian Lodge. During the period of blind expansion, the company was in chaos in management, the financial chain was broken, and the project was forced to stop completely. The luxury community, which was originally touted as a "paradise on earth", has become a dead city in the blink of an eye.
Without continuous investment, the environment of Australian Mountain Lodge is deteriorating. Due to unmanaged maintenance, the community is overgrown with weeds, and all kinds of snakes and poisonous creatures have begun to run rampant between the buildings.
Occasionally, homeless people and thieves come to forage for food and commit some thefts. The once-proud landscaped landscape has long been deserted, littered with garbage and damaged trails.
In this way, Ma Minzhuang lived in a "ghost town" that was about to decay. On weekdays, she can only wander the streets of the uninhabited community, avoiding snakes, insects and thieves who break into the empty door, and live the most basic life.
In his later years, he should have enjoyed the joy of his family, but he could only live alone in this forgotten corner of the world.
Fourth, Ma Minzhuang insisted alone
In the face of sudden changes, most owners chose to abandon their houses, but Ma Minzhuang made another choice.
For her, leaving meant giving up all her savings and dreams of old age. What's more, she also has a nostalgia and reluctance for this place that was once touted as "paradise".
So, Ma Minzhuang stuck to the Australian villa alone. In the first few years, she also joined dozens of other stubborn owners in trying to defend their rights through legal means, demanding that the developer pay for their breach of contract.
However, due to the intricacies of entanglement of interests, coupled with the local government's intentional or unintentional shortcomings, their efforts ultimately came to naught.
Gradually, other owners also left one after another, leaving only Ma Minzhuang, a lonely man, fighting alone.
Although the environment is getting worse day by day and life is becoming more and more difficult, she still sticks to this former "paradise", like the last lonely brave, defending her own rights and dignity in her own way.
Fifth, the difficult living environment
Living alone in an unfinished building, Ma Minzhuang's living conditions can be said to be extremely difficult, and he is simply barely surviving. There is no property management in the community, and basic livelihood facilities such as water supply and power supply have all stopped operating, and the entire park has fallen into complete abandonment.
To get water, Ma Minzhuang had to walk several kilometers to a nearby village to fetch water on his back, carrying a heavy bucket on his back. It was miles away, and she was getting old and a little weak, but there was nothing else she could do to survive.
In order to solve the electricity problem, she had to ask her children to arrange a temporary power line for her, which could barely meet the most basic electricity needs.
However, when there is nothing to do during the day, sunlight has become the only "power source" that Ma Minzhuang can rely on; At night, she can only light flickering candles and live carefully.
Moreover, due to the inaccessibility of people, the community is overgrown with weeds, and all kinds of snakes and poisonous creatures are rampant. When Ma Minzhuang went out, he always had to carry a stick, for fear of being accidentally attacked by these poisons.
At the same time, there is also the risk of some homeless people and thieves committing crimes, and she often fears that her safety is threatened. In order to solve the problem of food and clothing, Ma Minzhuang cultivated a small vegetable plot downstairs during the day, at least to be self-sufficient.
In this forgotten corner of the world, Ma Minzhuang is alone, with snakes and insects, and maintains the most basic life by selling his hard-earned money.
She often wonders what she did wrong to cause this disaster. But in any case, she has become homeless and can only hold on to this place that was once touted as "paradise on earth".
6. Brief hope for reconstruction
After many years of holding on alone in a ghost town, Ma Minzhuang finally ushered in the dawn of reconstruction.
In 2015, some media reported that the overall demolition and reconstruction procedures of the Australian mountain villa were basically ready, and a powerful large enterprise would invest billions of yuan to completely renovate this unfinished building.
Hu Yaozhi, the original developer owner of Australia Villa, announced in a high-profile manner that he will re-hire the top architectural design team in China, from container design to garden landscape, to create a new community of top quality, and strive to restore the prosperous scene of the past.
For a time, the entire Australian mountain resort area was filled with the expectation of rebirth. Ma Minzhuang even praised the media reports as "great news", and she can finally unload the burden she has been carrying for many years and live out her old age in peace.
However, just when everyone's hope for reconstruction was ignited, it finally became a new bubble.
Due to the conflict of interests between the original developer and the owner of the land, the two parties have not been able to reach an agreement on the details of the redevelopment. After many setbacks, the reconstruction plan finally fell through.
7. Be optimistic about your later life
Needless to say, the disappointment was not to be mentioned, but Ma Minzhuang seemed to have seen it and did not mind the depressing news too much. She just went about living her idyllic life quietly in this secluded corner forgotten by the world.
Every morning, Ma Minzhuang would be awakened by the sound of birds, and with the dew of the sun, her day began. In the morning, I take care of my small vegetable garden, water and fertilize the green vegetables, plough and weed, and reserve energy for the next day.
In the afternoon, Ma Minzhuang will take his leisure time, either writing and reading at home, or going outdoors to do sports, breathing in the pure air of this paradise.
Evening is the time that Ma Minzhuang is most looking forward to. She will take a short walk along the winding mountain road in the community to enjoy the beauty of this paradise.
The mountains are towering, the trees are green, the streams are babbling, and the whole world is quiet and peaceful. It's hard, but Ma Minzhuang seems to have gotten used to it and enjoyed it.
8. The sticklers are dying out
Having said that, Ma Minzhuang will inevitably have his own lonely moments. As time passed, the other owners who had been with her at the beginning withered.
Some died of illness, and some moved out due to advanced age. In the end, only Ma Minzhuang, the last watchman, was left, like a temporary worker patrolling the ruins.
Even so, Ma Minzhuang still can't hide his nostalgia for this land. Although this place is desolate and depressed, it was also a lively and lively paradise for her alone.
She has spent most of her life here, witnessing the whole process of the Australian mountain villa from prosperity to decline.
Although only the ruins remain, Ma Minzhuang still has a glimmer of hope, hoping that he can live until the day when he sees this place return to its former prosperity, so that it is no longer a "ghost town" in the eyes of the world.
In this forgotten corner of the world, Ma Minzhuang is watching alone. Although she has no family and friends around her, this land has become her closest confidant.
She hoped to spend the rest of her life in peace, waiting for a miracle, even if it was a glimmer of hope.
9. I hope that the real estate chaos will subside as soon as possible
Looking back on the whole incident, Ma Minzhuang's life savings were easily taken away by the developer, and she used her own personal experience to interpret the helplessness and despair of too many ordinary people who were deceived by the developer and waited for the expansion of power.
But her optimism and tenacity demonstrate a person's tenacious character of self-improvement in the face of adversity. I hope that old people like Ma Minzhuang can enjoy their old age in peace and no longer worry about real estate problems.
It is hoped that the chaos of unfinished properties like Australia Hills can be resolved as soon as possible, so that innocent buyers will not be harmed.