China’s latest Internet celebrity is the 40-year-old Ms Wu Ping, owner of the “coolest nail house in history” in Chongqing.
Nail house (钉子户) is a Chinese slang term referring to people and households who refuse to move after receiving eviction notices from real estate developers or government officials. Wu Ping became famous overnight because of the extremity of the situation: her house has become an island in the middle of a construction pit (pictured, previously reported on Danwei, story broken in English by Peering Into the Interior).
The standoff betwen Wu Ping and the real estate developers has apparently not yet been resolved, but China Digital Times reports that the Chinese media has already been warned to stay away from the topic:
All domestic print press … received urgent notices from the State Council Information Office at 1:30 pm, March 24 … no more reporting and commenting on the “nailhouse” event.
That has not had much effect on the Internet, where people have not only continued to write about the case, but also to publish spoof images in support of Wu Ping (see Virtual China and China Digital Times for more).
Video sharing site Youqu (formerly Yoqoo) has a whole section devoted to videos about the nail house. Below is one of the videos featuring Wu Ping. She is a tough lady with a strong Sichuan accent who looks like she is going to get what she wants.