When internet giant NetEase offered a free apartment in the city of Hegang as part of a marketing gimmick to promote online game Nishuihan, it was a sign the once-prosperous coal-mining hub in northeast China had reached rock bottom.
The winner was even given the option of cashing in the 89-sq.-meter or larger apartment for 50,000 yuan ($7,858) just in case they did not fancy moving to the city of 891,271 people in Heilongjiang Province, some 50 km southwest of the Russian border.
