Philanthropist offers free villa to Mo Yan

A renowned Chinese philanthropist has offered Nobel laureate Mo Yan a villa in suburban Beijing.

Chen Guangbiao, one of China's most ostentatious businessmen and philanthropist wrote on his Sina Weibo on Monday: "I have 13 commercial properties within Beijing's second ring road and two villas within 20 minutes' (driving) distance from the airport. If Mo Yan likes, I will go with him to pick either of the villas. And I give my word."

Mo, the first Chinese citizen to win the Nobel Prize in Literature, revealed during an interview with the Xinhua News Agency on Oct 12 that he would use the 8 million Swedish krona ($1.2 million) prize money to buy a house in Beijing.

However, Chen thinks the sum is not enough for a cozy property in the capital.

"I've learnt that Mo Yan plans to put 7.5 million yuan property in Beijing. And I'm sorry to point it out that the money is not enough for a big one…I propose to give away one of my properties in Beijing to Mo so that he can no longer worry about houses and put more energy into writing more works that reflect good ethnic cultures," writes Chen.