Excavators rolled in, and workers began construction. The dark red soil was dug up from the foundation pit and quickly piled into long mounds. The roughly 20-mu (1.3 hectares) construction site, located on the north side of Xinjian Road in Lanshan County, Hunan Province, stirred growing anxiety in Han Yongming, who is now in his sixties. "This piece of land was supposed to be ours, but it has been auctioned off to someone else," he said, observing the construction activity.
According to Han, over two decades ago, he was brought in by the local government through an investment promotion initiative to build a star-rated hotel in Lanshan County. The county government signed a contract promising to provide 100 mu of land at a discounted price. However, after the hotel was built, the government and relevant departments have yet to deliver 35 mu of land as agreed upon in the contract. Furthermore, they revoked the land certificates that had previously been issued.
In September 2025, the Lanshan County government issued a decision, ruling that the original contract signed by the county government contained legal deficiencies, including exceeding statutory authority and illegal land transfer procedures, and rejected Han's request for the delivery of the 35 mu of land. After an administrative review, Han's company filed a lawsuit against the Lanshan County government and the Yongzhou City government. The case was heard in open court at the Yongzhou Intermediate People's Court in April 2026, but a verdict has not yet been reached.
At the end of June, a piece of land designated as an "object in dispute" was publicly auctioned. "The court hasn't even made a ruling yet, and they sell off the land arbitrarily," Han argued, claiming the county government's handling of the disputed land was illegal. On August 7, an official from the Lanshan County Bureau of Natural Resources told The Paper that the matter was now under legal proceedings and that the bureau would comply with the court's final judgment or ruling.
County Government Recruits Investment for Star-Rated Hotel to 'Enhance Urban Quality'
Han Yongming, a native of Lingling District in Yongzhou, co-founded Yongzhou Jinshan Real Estate Development Co., Ltd. (hereafter referred to as Jinshan Company) in 2003. In May of that year, the Lanshan County People's Government (Party A) signed a contract with Jinshan Company (Party B) for the construction of a star-rated hotel. The contract specified that the hotel would be built opposite the proposed new site for the county party committee and government office buildings. The project was designated as a key demonstration project for investment promotion, with Party A agreeing to transfer 100 mu of land to Party B at a preferential price of 10,000 yuan per mu and handling all land registration procedures free of charge.
The land was intended not only for the hotel but also for residential development and other commercial projects. The contract stipulated that the hotel must be completed and open for business within two years of construction starting, and achieve a three-star rating within one year of opening. Failure to do so would require Party B to pay a supplementary land transfer fee of 200,000 yuan per mu. The contract was signed by Han Yongming on behalf of Jinshan Company and Zhang Zhaoxiang, then the county magistrate, who tragically died in a car accident two years later.
At that time, Lanshan County, located on the southern border of Hunan, had no star-rated hotels. Han noted that the investment required to build and operate a three-star hotel was substantial, while local consumption levels were low, making it a loss-making venture. He explained that the county government, aiming to "enhance urban quality," had offered the discounted land as compensation for the investment costs. Han was also attracted by the county leaders' promise to relocate the county government offices opposite the hotel, which he believed would bring foot traffic and business opportunities. However, that 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 Bureau of Land and Resources issued three land use certificates covering approximately 100 mu. In late 2004, due to land swaps and delivery delays, the parties signed a supplementary agreement. In 2009, the Lanshan County government and Jinshan Company signed another agreement, named Supplementary Agreement II, in which the county government agreed to "deliver" three additional parcels of land, totaling 96.21 mu, on top of the 16.3 mu already provided for the hotel. This Supplementary Agreement II, which later became a point of contention, was signed on behalf of Party A by Wen Yahui, then a Standing Committee member of the Lanshan County Party Committee and director of the county party committee office, who was also the project commander. Wen noted on the agreement: "Submitted to County Magistrate Yan for final approval." The agreement did not bear the official seal of the county government.
Han explained that another shareholder from Jinshan Company negotiated and signed Supplementary Agreement II, but due to various reasons, the county government's seal was not affixed. However, he claimed that the Lanshan County government effectively approved and implemented the agreement, issuing a notice to the county land bureau to issue new land use certificates based on the parcels specified in the agreement. According to Han, after Supplementary Agreement II was signed, the Lanshan County government delivered most of the land, but 35.01 mu were never handed over as agreed.
Hotel Investor Falls into Bankruptcy, Land Certificates Revoked for 'Illegalities'
In November 2009, Jinshan Company's star-rated hotel, named Nanhai International Hotel, began operations, representing an investment of approximately 100 million yuan. The 17-story building became a local landmark. However, the hotel suffered significant losses after a few years of operation. In 2016, the company operating the hotel was ordered into bankruptcy liquidation by the court, with total debts reaching 240 million yuan. After the hotel was auctioned off to a bank to repay debts, the operator still owed around 160 million yuan. The hotel was subsequently renamed and rebranded as a chain hotel, with no further connection to Han Yongming.
Han stated that the Lanshan star-rated hotel project left him heavily indebted and led to disputes with his business partners. He believes that if the county government had delivered the 35 mu of land as promised, his company would not have faced the financial difficulties that followed. In March 2022, Jinshan Company applied to convert its land use certificates, issued in 2004, into real estate ownership certificates, but the Lanshan County Bureau of Natural Resources refused. Jinshan Company then took the matter to court. In August 2022, the Dao County People's Court ruled that the Bureau of Natural Resources must process the company's application. Subsequently, the bureau issued a decision to revoke Jinshan Company's land use certificate, arguing that the land had never been properly acquired and transferred, and the original 2004 certification process had violated regulations.
Han challenged the revocation in court, but the Dao County court found that the original certificate had been issued improperly due to missing documentation and upheld the bureau's decision. The court noted that the original land bureau staff had bypassed standard procedures to accommodate the investment project. The Yongzhou Intermediate People's Court and the Hunan Provincial Higher People's Court later upheld this decision. Despite losing the certificate revocation case, Han insisted that the Lanshan County government should fulfill its contractual obligation to deliver the remaining 35.01 mu of land. "It's written in black and white in the agreement," he said.
Company Sues County Government for Land Delivery, But Auction Occurs Before Verdict
In December 2024, Jinshan Company applied for an administrative review, urging the higher authorities to order the Lanshan County government to deliver the land. The Yongzhou City government, acting as the review body, concluded that Supplementary Agreement II, lacking the county government's official seal, was not a final and enforceable contract. However, it recommended that the county government take remedial measures. In September 2025, the Lanshan County government formally rejected Jinshan Company's request, citing the contract's invalidity due to jurisdictional and procedural violations. Jinshan Company then filed an administrative lawsuit in March 2026 against both the Lanshan County and Yongzhou City governments, seeking to have the decision overturned and the land delivered.
The case was heard in open court at the Yongzhou Intermediate People's Court on April 20, 2026. During the proceedings, the Lanshan County government argued that the land transfer contract was invalid because it was signed by the county government rather than the authorized land management department, and that the land was transferred through a private agreement rather than the required public auction or bidding process. Jinshan Company countered that the contract was a comprehensive investment framework agreement, not a simple land transfer contract, and that the 2009 agreement had been partially implemented by the county government. The court has not yet issued a verdict.
On June 29, the Lanshan County Bureau of Natural Resources auctioned off approximately 28 mu of land on the north side of Xinjian Road to a real estate company, and construction has already begun. Han claimed that this land is part of the 35.01 mu that was supposed to be delivered under the agreement and is an object in the ongoing lawsuit. "The court hasn't ruled yet, and they've already auctioned it off," he said, arguing that the county government's actions were unlawful and detrimental to the rights of private enterprises. Following the auction, a court official from the Yongzhou Intermediate People's Court inquired about the matter. A defendant's representative stated that the auctioned land included 13.61 mu of the disputed land. When contacted, Chen Yong, Party Secretary of the Lanshan County Bureau of Natural Resources, stated that the matter was under legal proceedings and that the government would act in accordance with the court's final decision.