Map burns red for forced demolitions
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A "Blood House Map" marking violent demolitions is rapidly gaining popularity on the Internet, reminding the populace of the pain of China's urbanization.
The map, open for public edit on Google Maps, marks 86 reported violent demolitions dating back to 2001. Red icons such as beds, fires and volcanoes are used to tag incidents in which people reportedly died, set themselves ablaze or rose in protest.
Events unverified by professional media use the special tag "i", and marked events can be deleted if a confrontation has been addressed appropriately and the former property owners compensated.
As of 10 pm on Tuesday, the map had been viewed more than 226,000 times since it was created on Oct 8. But editing of the map was temporarily closed on Tuesday due to "malicious marking" by some, according to the map drafter.
The map shows red tags concentrated mostly in China's rich eastern and coastal regions. Few, in contrast, are left on the hinterlands in Central and West China.
"Those people who lost their lives during demolition confrontations - be they property residents or members of the demolition squad - somehow fell victim to the country's fast development," the map's creator told China Daily on Tuesday on condition of anonymity.
"The map is their monument."
He said a violent demolition in Baihutou village in South China's Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region on Oct 7 shocked him and fueled him to draft the map.
