BEIJING: Down a ramshackle alleyway, with no running water or toilet, and filled with rubbish, lies a cramped, 13-square-metre room few wealthy Chinese would deign to occupy. It is for sale at nearly $600,000.

The space has one particular feature that makes it a spectacularly desirable residence: ownership entitles the buyer’s child to a place at the nearby Huangchenggen Primary School, considered one of the best in the People’s Republic.

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