In Changsha, the capital city of Hunan province, Yang has just finished his morning flute practice by the lake next to his apartment. Over his seven decades he has lived in five different housing compounds, but says this one, with its greenery and nearby high-speed rail, is the best.
Yang, who declined to provide his full name, bought into the Changsha Evergrande Oasis, one of many developments in the region, for Rmb615,000 ($85,000) in 2009. A year later, after his apartment was finished, he and his son’s family moved in.
Although the name has since become synonymous with the rise and fall of Chinese real estate, at that time he knew “nothing about Evergrande” or “where its money came from”.