Construction worker Shi Tieniu bought a presale apartment in an industrial city in northwestern China¡¯s Shaanxi province, billed as a ¡°superior product¡± to be ¡°passed down through generations.¡±

Eight years later, it is an unfinished shell, and every night he must climb 20 flights of stairs to sleep in a threadbare room without water, heating or electricity.

¡°I almost never drink water, wash my face or brush my teeth,¡± said Shi, 39, who moved into the Gaotie Wellness City complex in May.