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Yang's 280 neighbours have all moved out,
clearing the path for developers [Reuters] | A deadline has passed for the demolition of a solitary house in the sprawling Chinese city of Chongqing that has prevented developers from beginning work on a shopping mall in the area.
However, there were no reports on Thursday of the demise of the house, situated in the Yanjiaping neighbourhood, in the city that has become known across China.
Every one of the other 280 families in the area have moved out but Yang, but the owner of the remaining house has barricaded himself inside in protest at the forced purchase of his home to make way for the development.
His wife, Wu, has been leading the public fight and told Al Jazeera's Tony Cheng she "just want[s] the government to give me a reasonable settlement and punish the corrupt officials who did this".
Millions of Chinese lose their land to developers each year but Yang's case has captured the public interest.
Crowds of people have come to the site despite the government's instruction that the media should not cover the story.
Chongqing is an embodiment of the rapid growth China is experiencing.
Its rising population now numbers around 30 million, already more than the entire population of Iraq.
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