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news Scmp World 2026-05-18

Shanghai Grandpa Lives in Supermarket, Offers Flat to New Friend

A 78-year-old Shanghai man, who has been living in a supermarket's staff entrance for nearly a decade to combat loneliness, has offered his owned flat to a nanny he befriended there.


A flat-owning Shanghai grandpa who lives in a supermarket to avoid loneliness gave his home to a nanny he met at the shop in the face of his son’s disapproval. Qiangming, 78, has been living in the staff entrance of the supermarket in Shanghai for nearly a decade. He sleeps on a mat, rests in the supermarket’s dining area during the day and carries 50,000 yuan (US$7,400) cash in his pocket, plus a DV recorder. He describes himself as a drifter, not a beggar. The 20sqm flat he owns nearby is...

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