CRI听力: Capsule Apartments Look to Attract College Grads

Now Japan is not the only place where people on a budget can crawl into a low-priced capsule for the night, which is something 78-year-old Huang Rixin thinks graduates looking for work in Beijing can appreciate.

Zhang Wan takes a closer look.



"Recent graduates hope to have a private space of their own without it costing a lot of money. So a capsule is a practical solution for them."

Big idea, yet small results.

Located on the top floor of a three-story building in Liulangzhuang, Haidian district, all eight capsules utilize around two square meters of living space, equipped with an anti-theft door, computer table, outlets and Internet hookups.

In order to build his "capsules", Huang Rixin invested 40,000 yuan of his pension, rented three separate apartments in February paying 1,950 yuan a month, and spent the next month partitioning them, charging 250 yuan each capsule in rent per month.

Huang Rixin is a retired senior electrical engineer. Although his capsules remain empty, he is hopeful and claims not to be aiming to make a profit, but rather to provide low rent transitional living to the city's growing number of unemployed graduates.

"I would be very happy if what I've been doing can be recognized by society. Maybe the design could help municipal development by redesigning existing space more efficiently."

The old gentlmen is confident in his work, and hopes it will attract attention and support in the future. He says a capsule is only a transitional living place for the graduates.

Although no one has signed up to rent the capsules yet, Huang Rixin did get a student come view the capsules through his post on internet and stay there for a couple of days.

Xiao Sun, a student at a university in northeast China, traveled in Beijing during his holiday for Tomb Sweeping Festival.

"This is a good place, especially when I got tired after a whole day of sightseeing, I felt very comfortable lying on the bed with the door closed."

Xiao Sun says it would be fine if he could find such an apartment after he graduates from university.

However, some people say it's not very convenient to live in the capsule apartment, because tenants have to share a public kitchen, and the toilets are located outside the building.

According to a survey on Sina.com, over half of the 7,000 interviewees believe the capsule apartments will become popular.

For CRI, I am Zhang Wan.