Chinese Farmer Builds Towering Clay Castle In Hopes His Dead Brothers Will Return

It's being called "a real-life version of Howl's Moving Castle."
A towering seven-story home made of clay, wood and stone was built by a Chinese farmer.
A towering seven-story home made of clay, wood and stone was built by a Chinese farmer.
ChinaFotoPress via Getty Images

A Chinese farmer spent a decade single-handedly building a towering, seven-story home out of clay, wood and bricks for his two brothers.

Hu Guangzhou, 55, began work on the unusual home in 2006, when his siblings died.

Hu is described as mentally ill and lives on government subsidies as well as free steamed buns from a local shop. He refuses to believe his brothers are dead and built the tower for them to live in when they return to Shandong province in the country's east, the Epoch Times reported.

Local officials didn't have the heart to take down his creation and now the unusual structure has become a local tourist attraction, with people stopping by to take photos or just marvel at it.

(Story continues below image.)

ChinaFotoPress via Getty Images

The People's Daily reported that social media users in China are calling it "a real-life version of Howl’s Moving Castle" after the magical transforming building in the Hayao Miyazaki film of the same name:

Despite the fact that the structure looks "like a ramshackle tower that can collapse at any time," Hu lived inside it, China News reported. He was eventually persuaded to move into a properly built house.

The village is currently building Hu a new home.

(h/t Mashable)

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