For Rent: Beijing's Most Haunted House, RMB 10 Million Annually

Beijing's most infamous haunted house has just been put on the rental market, for a mere RMB 10 million per year.

The long-derelict century-old house at 81 Chaonei Avenue has been under renovation for the past year and is now exclusively listed by online brokers kongjianjia.com.

The historic property was built in 1910 and consists of two three-story stone and brick houses connected by a corridor, and features a basement, terrace, and balcony. Its unique Western style, featuring French and Greek architectural flourishes, makes it one of the few of its kind still standing in Beijing.

Built on a 2,515-square-meter lot, it has 2,300 square meters of usable floor space. The landlord – the Catholic Association of Beijing – will only consider a single tenant.

RELATED: Beijing’s Spookiest House is No Longer Haunted

At RMB 10 million a year – that's RMB 833,333 a month, or RMB 27,397 daily – it's among the most expensive standalone rentals in Beijing.

In its past the house has been used as a school, a clinic, and a residence for Catholic clergy. Its current property managers say it would be perfect for an office, gallery, high end restaurant or a non-profit organization.

Almost condemned in the 90s, the house had fallen into disrepair for the better part of two decades. Throughout that time it has been walled off to the public, but that has never detracted curious onlookers -- especially as neighboring buildings slowly gave way to modernized developments.

The property got a new lease on life in 2009 when it was entered into the Dongcheng register of protected cultural relics, one of only nine contemporary structures in the district to receive such a designation.

The buildings have now been restored to their Nationalist-era glory, and remain of two of the few standalone buildings bordering the Second Ring Road.

Prior to its renovation the buildings had grown to be nearly legendary. At its peak guards say it attracted over 500 curious onlookers daily. Urban spelunkers regularly snuck their way in at night and covered the interior with graffiti.

Its fame reached its peak in 2014 with the release of the horror movie The House That Never Dies, which retells the urban legend that the estate is haunted by the mistress of a Kuomintang official who hung herself there after her beau abandoned Beijing following the Communist victory in 1949.

The property has all the mod cons including heating and central air, and management plans to replace the current fence that surrounds the property with a more open-style divider that will showcase its beauty.

Were we not living hand-to-mouth on the edge of poverty, we here at the Beijinger would jump at the chance to rent such a beautiful, centrally-located property. So how about it folks, any takers?

Images: Kongjianjia