Many of you might have thought that I lived in a sterile, super tiny apartment (around 450 square feet in total), but it does NOT compare to this.
Each small apartment, at 2.4 meters long, 0.90 meters wide and 2 meters high, has space only for a single bed and a dressing table, with TV set and Internet connections.
This blogger (Zhang Qi) does it so that she can save money to send back to her family.
She used to rent an apartment with a roommate for 800 yuan a month, and now she rents that pod for 250 yuan a month, saving an extra 550 yuan to send back to her mom & siblings.
Extremely admirable, and very… very.. minimalist.
I can see why she does it and she has made the choice to do it. She wasn’t forced into it, and she feels like it’s a good compromise to be able to save 550 yuan (!!) or 68.75% as a result.
In principle, we’ve done the same thing — moved from a 1 bedroom apartment to a studio.
As for a bathroom, they have a public toilet outside, and I think she eats out — perhaps the street food there is healthy & cheap?
As for the developer:
Huang’s entrepreneurial move was inspired by Ant Tribe, a well-publicized book about new graduates who make little money and are forced to live together like ants in small apartments in villages in Beijing.
Huang hoped to provide better accommodation for such “ant tribes”. He spent about 30,000 yuan to build eight capsule apartments in the three rooms, completed in March, for which he pays about 2,000 yuan rent every month and charges 250 yuan and 350 yuan per month for a 90-meter or 120-meter space.
“I was deeply disturbed by college graduates who are forced to live in slums far away, and have to take hours to go to their workplaces,” Huang told Asia Times Online.
The compartments are similar, though more basic, to sleeping capsules available in Tokyo, but there they tend to be rented by the night by salaryworkers (salarimen) unable to get home on any particular evening. Huang’s creations are for more long-term residents.
It’s been fully rented.
Read the entire Asia Times Article here.
And that space would be enough for my clothes & shoes.
Just a girl trying to find a balance between being a Shopaholic and a Saver.
I cleared $60,000 in 18 months earning $65,000 gross/year.
Now I am self-employed, and you can read more about 
Eating out in Beijing is super super cheap. You can eat out for every meal and still pay under 10 yuan. I did it that way to save money when I was backpacking over there.
I could totally live this way. I already live in a small studio (most people hate it cause they think it is too small – but it is GREAT! for me~!) – I think I might be able to do that, as long as I had enough room for my laptop, camera, and somewhere to put my bike at the end of the day.
Another comment: I knew of someone in NYC that rented a walk in closet sized apt. (like, 6 ft. by 6 ft.)for $500/month. Even that was hard to believe!
Wow! I'd feel claustrophobic too. I'm just confused as to where she stores her clothes and shoes and like, toothpaste and hairbrush! Those bags can't be IT! She's better dressed than me!
I do understand her reasoning, and it makes sense, so good for her that she has an option for her situation. I lived with my 2 kids and husband for 2 years in 700 square feet 1 bedroom apt, and though it was small, it was liveable with the right arranging. We actually almost chose a 450 sq. feet place to save half the rent money, which would have been liveable too but uncomfortable. We reasoned that lots of people live that way all over the world, and we felt grateful to have the 700 square feet in such an expensive city.
But this is on another level.
Wow – what a great idea. The crazy part is 550yuan is only about $75 USD. I think its a great idea as I have heard that some of my co-workers in China can't afford a place since real estate is still going strong there. They have to commute 2+ hrs to get to work – something like this may be an attractive alternative for them.
Wow! I admire her for making that practical decision. Nowadays, we really need to maximize our efforts in managing our finances.
Also, a small area to clean. 🙂
Wow!
But like another blogger mentioned, it's not uncommon for an entire family to share a small one bedroom apartment in China and Hong Kong. You can eat, sleep, watch tv all in the same room – though I think the kitchen is shared. Space is limited and very expensive.
Very true. BF did something similar in France with his parents to save money. One room, 3 kids, 2 parents.
He said it was cramped at times, but they kept very quiet & respectful , and went out to play if they wanted space.
wow. I'm happy living in a small space, but that? No thanks. You would have to be out ALL the time and pretty much use it only for sleeping.
Wow, I'd feel claustrophobic.
Oh my! I couldn't do it but just looking at that pic & I'm already imagining different ways to decorate it.
Couldn't do it. I'm claustrophobic and that picture alone gave me the willies. The smallest I've been able to live comfortably in is about 600 square feet.
That is just waaaaaay too small. Can you imagine coming home after a rainy day? Everything would be soaking wet as you take off your wet shoes and wet clothes. Yuck.
I find that in big cities in Asia, young people tend to eat out for every meal because it is extremely cheap (you can get a huge bowl of noodles with meatballs for $1 in some places) and it saves them the hassle of going to the store, carrying all those bags on public transportation, and then finding room to store all the goods in a tiny kitchen/apartment. Also, people work crazy long hours so it's much more convenient to get something from the local street vendor on your way home from work.
I can imagine how cheap street food is. I mean, if I had such awesome, pretty healthy street food for cheap, I’d eat out too 🙂
That, I’m on board with.
But eww.. that rainy day image made me shudder. I’m glad we don’t have to make those choices here. At least, not to that extreme of an effort. I’m happy my parents are secure enough financially that I don’t have to do that.
It's a different world over there. Glad I'm over here.
They do the same thing in Japan for business men who can’t get home because it’s too late and too far away.
But it isn’t for long-term living!!!
Just….wow