Two Families In China Have Been Disputing The Boundaries Of Their Plots For 200 Years

• 26.10.2026, 19:08

The conflict was successfully resolved.

In China, two families have been in a legal dispute over the boundaries of their land plots for two centuries. Recently, a court in Xi’an finally put an end to the case, according to the South China Morning Post.

The Du and Zhang families had been arguing for years over the boundary between their homes. Recently, the Dus wanted to renovate their kitchen and raise the wall, but their neighbors objected, citing problems with lighting and drainage. The arguments escalated into skirmishes. The police and the village committee tried dozens of times to reconcile them, but to no avail.

During one of these attempts at reconciliation, the Zhang family produced an unexpected document—a land agreement dated to the 46th year of Emperor Qianlong’s reign. The handwritten text was preserved on the yellowed page. According to the Zhangs, this was an agreement between the families that established a boundary marked by a persimmon tree in the courtyard.

It was then that the authorities realized the dispute had been ongoing for more than 200 years. During that time, generations of both families had clashed repeatedly over the property boundaries, including shortly after the founding of the People’s Republic of China in 1949.

However, the court did not determine the boundary based solely on the old document. The authorities took measurements and developed a renovation plan that satisfied both families.