China parents paying top dollar for properties that come with school rights

Beijing

DOWN a ramshackle alley, with no running water or toilet, and filled with rubbish, lies a cramped, 13-square-metre room few wealthy Chinese would deign to occupy. It is for sale at nearly US$600,000.

The space has one particular feature that makes it a spectacularly desirable residence: ownership entitles the buyer's child to a place at the nearby Huangchenggen Primary School, considered one of the best in the People's Republic.