Woman Discovers Child's Grave Above Apartment 9 Years After Buying Home

A woman in Chengdu, southwest China’s Sichuan Province, discovered nearly nine years after buying a secondhand apartment that a grave containing the remains of a child had been built on the rooftop directly above her living room.

The woman, surnamed Li, bought the seventh-floor, top-level apartment in Jintang County in 2017. She had never lived there herself and had rented it out since the purchase, Sichuan Television reported yesterday.

Li learned about the grave only on October 4, during a casual conversation with a neighbor, who asked her what had happened to “the grave on the roof.”

She immediately called police.

The grave had been built with construction debris and reportedly contained the remains of a 7-year-old boy who died from illness in 2009 and had previously lived in the residential compound.

Police opened the grave and found some human remains, including teeth that were still clearly visible, according to the report. Samples were taken away for examination.

Li said the seller had never disclosed the existence of the grave when she bought the apartment. She believes the information was deliberately concealed and could have significantly affected both her decision to buy the property and its market value. She is now seeking to hold the former owner responsible but has been unable to contact them.

Chinese courts have previously held that home sellers have a duty to disclose major facts that could materially affect a buyer’s willingness to purchase a property. In one case published by the Ministry of Justice, a court found that concealing important information about a home could amount to fraud and justify compensation.

Li’s case is complicated, however, by the age of the transaction. Under both China’s 2017 General Provisions of Civil Law and the current Civil Code, a party induced into a transaction by fraud may seek to have it revoked, but the right of revocation generally expires no later than five years after the legal act occurred. Because Li bought the apartment in 2017, that route may now face a serious time-limit obstacle even though she says she only discovered the grave in 2026.