The days when workers in the United States used to live in housing provided by their companies are long gone. But companies all over China rely on the practice to keep employees living close to the factories and restaurants where they work, and keep the business humming efficiently. One company in China's far west is taking things one step further, using housing as a tool to promote employee loyalty.
In a time of desperate housing prices, desperate measures are being taken. For the past few months, the Chinese government has implemented new regulations in an attempt to cool off the property markets. But it might take one group of local residents in Xi'an to show the country how to do it…
SHANGHAI SINKING? U.S. BOOST FOR CHINESE BASKETBALL ARE YOU READY TO GO GREEN? HOUSING COSTS ONE CHILD POLICY: TIME FOR A CHANGE? ISLAM IN CHINA FRIENDS OF CHINA
It's not just temperatures that are skyrocketing in China this summer- house prices are soaring along with the mercury. So much so in fact, that the national government is promising some measure of relief for the middle class in the form of more government-assisted housing.
BON's Tony Zhou has more on how some lucky families are benefiting from affordable housing …
Since April, the Chinese government has imposed strong measures to prevent the housing prices from overheating. However, five months after the tough regulatory policies were announced, the housing prices remain steady. On Monday, Beijing Statistic Bureau started a plan to find out how many houses in the city are empty. BON’s George Liu has more.