^Photo:CFP

Artists' Village Experiement with Sales of Rural Property
From Nation, page 15
The controversy of artists from Songzhuang being taken to court for "illegally" buying rural property has resulted in a new ruling to protect both buyers and sellers. Under the Chinese law, rural land and property cannot be sold to urban residents. However, in a guideline issued earlier this year following the Songzhuang controvery in the outskirts of Beijing, it states that land remains under collective management, while the structures built upon the land are private property belonging to rural residents, who can trade it legally. According to local officials, there were no new lawsuits against artists after the new ruling took effect. The number of artists based there has increased from 1,300 people in 2006 to around 3,000 at present.
Original article:[Chinese]