Residents of Jiangbei village in Nanjing face mass eviction as the Chinese government plans to raze their village to build a new hi-tech zone, Nanjing Morning Post reports.

A divorcing couple is entitled to 220 square metres of housing as compensation but, after divorce, one person keeps the house while the other gets 70 square metres of housing – as well as 131,000 yuan.

An octogenarian who divorced his wife said it was worth it for the compensation and that the couple had enjoyed a good marriage.

Another resident was unconcerned about remarrying his wife: “It’s not something I care for now,” he said. “Everyone is doing it. We’ll deal with the other matters later.”

But one legal expert told the paper that the residents were playing a dangerous game and urged the authorities to change the compensation scheme to crack down on abuses.