Mongolian Yurt in Beijing protests against the city’s high rents

One young Chinese woman, Wang Li, has managed to create a buzz online after releasing photos of her home, a new kind of Mongolian Yurt in the heart of the Chinese capital. The tent of 3.5 meters in diameter -mounted on the roof of a house for only a year–is there to protest against the expensive housing market in Beijing.

Hoax or not, the anecdote draws attention to current real estate prices in China. Due to a limited supply in the face of rising demand, rents in major Chinese cities have experienced unusually high inflation in 2013. The New York Times reported that in September 2013, real estate prices in Beijing saw an increase of 16% compared to the previous year.