Excavators moved in, and workers arrived on site. Dark red soil was excavated from the foundation pit, quickly forming long piles. This construction site, spanning over 20 mu of land, is located on the north side of Xinjian Road in Lanshan County, Hunan Province. Witnessing the scene, 60-year-old Han Yongming grew increasingly anxious, stating, "This land was originally ours, but now it's been auctioned off to someone else."
According to Han Yongming, over two decades ago, he was recruited by Lanshan County through investment promotion to build a star-rated hotel. The county government signed a contract with him, promising to provide 100 mu of land at a preferential price. However, after the hotel was completed, the county government and relevant departments still failed to deliver 35 mu of land as agreed, and subsequently revoked the land certificates previously issued. In September 2025, the Lanshan County Government issued a decision, stating that the county government's signing of the relevant contract involved exceeding legal authority and illegal land transfer procedures, rejecting Han Yongming's request for the delivery of 35 mu of land.
After an administrative reconsideration, Han Yongming's company filed a lawsuit against the Lanshan County Government and the Yongzhou Municipal Government. The case was heard in open court at the Yongzhou Intermediate People's Court in April 2026, but no verdict has been reached yet. However, in late June, a parcel of land classified as "involved subject matter" was publicly auctioned. "The court hasn't ruled yet, and they've arbitrarily auctioned it off," Han Yongming said, alleging that the Lanshan County authorities' handling of the disputed land was "illegal." On August 7, the head of the Lanshan County Natural Resources Bureau told The Paper that the matter was now in legal proceedings, and they would act in accordance with the court's judgment or ruling.
Key considerations for starting
Han Yongming, a native of Lingling, Yongzhou, co-founded Yongzhou Jinshan Real Estate Development Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Jinshan Company") in 2003. In May of that year, the Lanshan County People's Government (Party A) and Jinshan Company (Party B) signed the "Lanshan County Star-rated Hotel Construction Contract." The contract stipulated that the hotel would be built opposite the proposed new county party committee and government office building, with the county government designating the project as a "key demonstration project for investment attraction and improving the investment environment." It agreed to transfer 100 mu of land to Party B at a preferential price of 10,000 yuan per mu, and was responsible for handling the land registration and certification procedures free of charge. The land was intended for both hotel construction and commercial development like residential communities. The hotel had to be completed and opened within two years of construction, and achieve a three-star rating within one year of opening, otherwise Party B would need to pay an additional 200,000 yuan per mu in land transfer fees. The contract bore the seals of Jinshan Company and the Lanshan County Government, with signatures from Han Yongming and then-County Mayor Zhang Zhaoxiang, who died in a car accident two years later.
Lanshan County, located on the southern border of Hunan, had no star-rated hotels at the time. "Building and operating a three-star hotel involved huge investment, but the local consumption level was low, so it was bound to be a loss," Han Yongming said. He explained that the county government's push for the star-rated hotel project aimed to "enhance the city's image," and the preferential land price was essentially compensation for the investment cost. Han Yongming noted that he was also attracted by the county leaders' promise to relocate the party committee and government offices opposite the hotel, which would bring popularity and business opportunities. However, this relocation plan has yet to materialize. After the contract was signed, Jinshan Company paid a total of 1 million yuan in land fees, and the Lanshan County Land Bureau issued them three land use certificates, covering approximately 100 mu in total.
In late 2004, due to land swaps and delayed delivery, the parties signed a supplementary agreement. In 2009, the Lanshan County Government and Jinshan Company signed another agreement (referred to as "Supplementary Agreement II"), stipulating that the county government would, on top of the 16.3 mu already provided for the hotel, "deliver" three additional parcels of land—including 10 mu for which compensation would be paid at 150,000 yuan per mu. This brought the total land provided by Lanshan County to four parcels, totaling 96.21 mu. This Supplementary Agreement II, which later became controversial, was signed on behalf of Party A by Wen Yahui, then Lanshan County Party Committee Standing Committee Member and Director of the County Party Committee Office, who was the commander of the hotel construction project. Wen Yahui added a note after signing: "Please submit to County Mayor Yan for approval." Party A did not affix the county government's official seal. Han Yongming claimed that another shareholder of Jinshan Company negotiated and signed "Supplementary Agreement II," and due to various reasons, the county government seal was not affixed, but the Lanshan County Government actually approved and implemented this supplementary agreement, issuing notices to the County Land Bureau to grant Han Yongming's company land use certificates for the swapped land—exactly as stipulated in the three parcels of "Supplementary Agreement II."
Why the focus on just 10 ASX 200 shares?
After signing Supplementary Agreement II, the Lanshan County Government issued a notice to the Land Bureau. According to Han Yongming, after the agreement was signed, Lanshan County gradually delivered parts of the land, but 35.01 mu still remain undelivered as per the agreement. In November 2009, Jinshan Company's approximately 100 million yuan star-rated hotel was completed and opened as "Nanhai International Hotel." This 17-story building became a local landmark. However, after several years of operation, the hotel suffered heavy losses. In 2016, the company operating the hotel was declared bankrupt and liquidated by the court, with total liabilities reaching 240 million yuan. After the hotel was auctioned off to a bank to settle debts, the operator still owed about 160 million yuan. The auctioned Nanhai International Hotel was renamed and is now operated as a chain hotel, no longer connected to Han Yongming.
Han Yongming said the Lanshan star-rated hotel project left him deeply in debt and led to ongoing disputes with his partners. He believes that if Lanshan County had delivered the 35 mu of land as agreed, his company would not have faced the subsequent funding crisis. In March 2022, Jinshan Company applied to change and register a real estate certificate based on the 2004 "State-owned Land Use Certificate," citing a land swap, but the Lanshan County Natural Resources Bureau refused to accept the application. Jinshan Company then sued. In August of that year, the Daoxian County People's Court ruled, ordering the Lanshan County Natural Resources Bureau to make a specific administrative act on the plaintiff's application. Subsequently, the Lanshan County Natural Resources Bureau issued a "Decision on Revoking Jinshan Company's No. 1101 State-owned Land Use Certificate." The bureau argued that the land held by Jinshan Company had not been fully expropriated or relocated, with ownership still belonging to the Sanli Village collective of Tafeng Town, making it ineligible for transfer. The certificate's registration lacked materials like a land registration approval form, missing essential legal requirements, and the 2004 certification violated relevant regulations, so it was revoked and cancelled.
After failing to secure a "new certificate" and having his "old certificate" cancelled, Han Yongming was dissatisfied and again sued the Lanshan County Natural Resources Bureau. The Daoxian County Court found that when Han Yongming applied for the land use certificate at the Lanshan County Land Bureau, the then-Director of the Cadastral Section, Li Bin, believed the county's investment attraction project could be handled as a special case. Thus, despite Han Yongming only providing the hotel construction contract and land transfer fee payment receipts, with other documents missing, Li Bin violated land registration procedures and issued the "State-owned Land Use Certificate" to Jinshan Company. Li Bin was subsequently disciplined for this. The Daoxian County Court ruled that the Lanshan County Natural Resources Bureau's revocation was a "lawful self-correction" and dismissed Jinshan Company's claims. Jinshan Company appealed, but the Yongzhou Intermediate People's Court upheld the decision. The court stated that if the appellant claimed reliance interests from the land transfer fees paid and the contract, they could seek recourse separately. Jinshan Company applied for a retrial, but it was rejected by the Hunan Provincial Higher People's Court in July 2024.
After losing the "certificate revocation" case, Han Yongming insisted that the Lanshan County Government should fulfill the agreement and deliver the 35.01 mu of land still outstanding. "It's written in black and white in the agreement," he said. In December 2024, Jinshan Company applied for administrative reconsideration, requesting the higher authority to order the Lanshan County Government to perform the contract and Supplementary Agreement II, delivering the 35.01 mu of land. The Yongzhou Municipal Government, as the reconsideration body, found that while Supplementary Agreement II was signed by a Lanshan County Committee staff member, it lacked the administrative seal, "representing an expression of intent between the parties but not being final and impossible to continue performing." However, "to substantially resolve administrative disputes, the respondent should take active remedial measures if the agreed-upon agreement cannot be performed." In March 2025, the Yongzhou Municipal Government issued an administrative reconsideration decision, ordering Lanshan County to take remedial measures and negotiate with the applicant regarding the agreement's performance. If negotiations failed, a lawful decision should be made.
Subsequently, the Lanshan County Government negotiated with Han Yongming. Han demanded the delivery of the land as per the original contract and supplementary agreement signed by the county mayor. In September 2025, the Lanshan County Government issued a decision, rejecting Jinshan Company's request for delivery of 35.01 mu of land and certificate issuance. The Lanshan County Government argued that the original hotel construction contract was invalid due to the contracting party exceeding legal authority, illegal land transfer pricing, and illegal transfer procedures. Jinshan Company again applied for administrative reconsideration, but the Yongzhou Municipal Government upheld the Lanshan County Government's decision. In March 2026, Jinshan Company filed an administrative lawsuit against both the Lanshan County Government and the Yongzhou Municipal Government, seeking to overturn the decisions and order the Lanshan County Government to perform the agreement, deliver the 35.01 mu of land, and issue a state-owned land use certificate.
The case was heard in open court at the Yongzhou Intermediate People's Court on April 20, 2026. During arguments, the Lanshan County Government contended that according to laws and regulations, land use rights transfer contracts should be signed by the land management department, whereas the contract and supplementary agreements in question were signed by the county government, exceeding the contracting party's legal authority, thus rendering the land transfer clauses void. Jinshan Company argued that the contract was a comprehensive framework agreement for investment attraction, not a single land use rights transfer contract. The Lanshan County Government stated that the land in question was farmland at the time and did not meet the conditions for transfer. Additionally, after new regulations were implemented in July 2002, commercial land transfers required "public bidding, auction, or listing," but the land in question was transferred through negotiation, which was "clearly illegal," and the price was far below the benchmark land price at the time. Jinshan Company countered that the negotiated land transfer at the time did not violate the Urban Real Estate Administration Law, and predated the comprehensive implementation of "public bidding, auction, or listing" in 2004. The validity of Supplementary Agreement II became a key point of contention. The Lanshan County Government argued that the agreement was not sealed by the county government, was not established or effective, and could not be used as a basis for litigation. Jinshan Company claimed that the agreement was signed by the then-County Party Committee Office Director (project commander) and had been partially implemented—Lanshan County had fulfilled three of the four terms, with only the 35.01 mu of land still undelivered.
The Lanshan County Government also noted that the over 60 mu of land already delivered to the plaintiff was worth at least 4.4 million yuan, far exceeding the land transfer fees, and that Jinshan Company had received "excessive benefits." Jinshan Company argued that the defendant's calculation of "benefits" based on isolated land prices ignored the plaintiff's massive investment in hotel construction and operational contributions. During the trial, the Lanshan County Government's legal representative stated, "It's impossible for current leaders to continue making illegal decisions for the illegal decisions of past leaders." Han Yongming retorted that he invested in Lanshan County based on trust in government credibility, but was met with "dishonest" treatment. "Even if there were illegalities or irregularities in the process, it was the county government's affair; they can't shift the responsibility and consequences onto me." The Yongzhou Municipal Government, as co-defendant, argued that its administrative reconsideration decision was factually clear and procedurally legal, and the plaintiff's claims should be dismissed. The Yongzhou Intermediate Court has not yet issued a verdict.
On June 29, the Lanshan County Natural Resources Bureau, through "public bidding, auction, or listing," transferred approximately 28 mu of land on the north side of Xinjian Road to a real estate company, which has now started construction. Han Yongming claims that this land is part of the undelivered land stipulated in the agreement and is the "involved subject matter" of this administrative lawsuit. "The court hasn't ruled yet, and they've already auctioned it off," Han said. He accused the Lanshan County authorities of being "dishonest" for failing to deliver the land and "illegal" for arbitrarily disposing of the subject matter, harming the legitimate rights of private enterprises and damaging the business environment. After the land auction, on July 13, the Yongzhou Intermediate Court questioned relevant parties involved in the lawsuit. Staff from the defendant's side stated that the auctioned land included 13.61 mu of the disputed land. To understand the situation, on August 7, The Paper contacted Tang Jianwei, who had represented the Lanshan County Government as Deputy County Head in the April court hearing. However, Tang Jianwei said he had been transferred away from Lanshan and was unavailable for an interview. Subsequently, The Paper contacted Chen Yong, Party Secretary of the Lanshan County Natural Resources Bureau. "This matter has entered legal proceedings," Chen Yong told The Paper. "We will handle it based on the final court judgment or ruling. The county government, upholding the requirement of an honest government, will follow the court's determination and then we will carry out the legal process accordingly."