Gregory M. STEIN

Rapid development has transformed China’s skyline. Skyscrapers and modern buildings occupy space once used for farming. PHOTO BY TOM CHRISTENSEN.
China is experiencing one of the greatest real estate booms in history despite a prohibition on private ownership of land, a stated adherence to Marxist principles, and the absence of a national property law until 2007. Although China’s formal legal system still has some catching up to do, its informal