Chinese "Prefabricated Houses" Are Taking the World by Storm

‌Reprinted from: Huanqiu.com: Chinese Prefabricated Houses Are Seeing Explosive Global Orders‌

Chinese-made "prefabricated houses" are selling hot across the globe in the form of "giant express deliveries". Just last month, Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Mao Ning praised Chinese-made prefabricated houses on Platform X, which turned "buying a house from China" into a trending topic on overseas social media. In the first four months of this year alone, the export of prefabricated houses via Shenzhen Port reached 1.68 billion yuan, marking a year-on-year increase of 19.6%. The products cover more than 150 countries and regions worldwide, and are widely used in overseas hotels, senior care apartments, office buildings and modular data centers. From the University of Hong Kong's dormitories that withstood a Category 10 typhoon, to the "unboxing video" that has amassed over 3.6 million views on YouTube, Chinese-made modular buildings are using solid real-world cases to reshape overseas consumers' perception of "Chinese-made houses". Reporters from Global Times recently conducted in-depth interviews with modular construction experts from the University of Hong Kong, mainland integrated housing manufacturers and overseas construction industry practitioners, to restore the full picture of Chinese prefabricated houses going global.

The University of Hong Kong Dormitory That Withstood a Category 10 Typhoon

At 4 Police School Path, Wong Chuk Hang, in the Southern District of Hong Kong Island, stands the Jockey Club Student Village IV, a new dormitory complex recently built by the University of Hong Kong. On August 30, 2023, hundreds of students from around the world moved into the two 20-story new dormitory buildings. Just two days later, Hong Kong was hit by Typhoon Saola, a Category 10 storm.

Professor Wei Pan, Head of the Department of Civil Engineering at the University of Hong Kong and Director of the MiC Laboratory for Modular Integrated Construction (MiCLab), was closely monitoring the status of the new Wong Chuk Hang dormitory at that time. This was Hong Kong's first high-rise student dormitory project built using the MiC (Modular Integrated Construction) method. Unlike traditional construction, where most work is completed on-site, MiC breaks the building down into individual modules. The building structure, mechanical and electrical systems, interior decoration and even some furniture are all completed in the factory in advance. The pre-integrated modules are then transported to the site and assembled together like building blocks.

After the typhoon, the school's inspection found no damage or water leakage anywhere in the new dormitory. "Just a few days after delivery, it passed the test of a Category 10 typhoon," Professor Pan recalled in a recent interview with Global Times. The Wong Chuk Hang dormitory has since withstood multiple subsequent typhoons and rainstorms, delivering consistently excellent performance.

After the new dormitory was put into use, Professor Pan's team conducted a survey on the energy use behavior and comfort levels of the students living there. The results showed that more than half of the students did not notice any difference between the MiC dormitory and traditional dormitories. Even so, over 70% of the students rated their living experience as comfortable or very comfortable, and more than 50% said they did not feel excessive cold or heat near the walls or windows, nor did they feel air seeping in when the doors and windows were closed. "This shows that in terms of user experience, the MiC building has excellent thermal insulation and airtightness performance," Professor Pan told Global Times. These two properties are extremely important in Hong Kong's hot and humid climate. The success of HKU's Wong Chuk Hang MiC student dormitory quickly created a demonstration effect across Hong Kong. At present, HKU's second MiC project, the "West Hill Student and Staff Dormitory", is nearing completion.

Hong Kong faces high building density, high construction costs and labor shortages, and its construction industry is in urgent need of transformation and upgrading. As early as 2017, HKU MiCLab and the Hong Kong SAR Government's Development Bureau jointly proposed the MiC construction method. The University of Hong Kong, as the project owner, used the Wong Chuk Hang student dormitory as a pilot project. To date, MiC has been included in the Hong Kong SAR Chief Executive's Policy Address for 9 consecutive years. The Hong Kong SAR Government has continuously promoted MiC in public projects including hospitals, schools and office buildings, accumulating a large number of practical cases and rich experience.

In June 2025, the University of Hong Kong took the lead in establishing the International Association for Modular Construction (IAMC), bringing together scholars and experts from world-renowned universities such as Stanford University, the National University of Singapore and the University of Melbourne, as well as top global research institutions. As the Chairman of IAMC, Professor Pan has felt firsthand the shock of international peers at the large scale and deep practical experience of MiC applications in Hong Kong during exchanges. They are particularly interested in the "Hong Kong application scenarios + Greater Bay Area manufacturing capacity" model, and are curious about how Hong Kong and the Chinese mainland can organically combine technological innovation, industrial capabilities and market demand. Professor Pan explained that many countries and regions are also researching or promoting modular construction, but they often face challenges such as limited market size, incomplete industrial chains or insufficient project application scenarios. In contrast, the Chinese mainland has a complete manufacturing system, while Hong Kong has taken the lead in promoting MiC through policy guidance, standard system construction and demonstration projects, and has accumulated rich experience especially in high-density urban environments. This complementary advantage model is extremely rare in the world.

"Chinese Express Delivery", Houses Delivered Worldwide

Changshu Yahgee Modular Building Co., Ltd. is the module supplier for HKU's Wong Chuk Hang dormitory project, and it is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Nanshan Holdings, which is under China Merchants Group, a central SOE stationed in Hong Kong. After Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Mao Ning praised Chinese-made prefabricated houses on Platform X, Shasha Zhou, Head of Overseas Business at Yahgee, told Global Times that overseas customers and partners have given very positive feedback, especially in the Australian market where Yahgee has long been deeply rooted, with a sharp increase in new customer inquiries.

Tony, an Australian construction businessman, first came into contact with new Chinese integrated building enterprises including Yahgee back in 2005. Australia's construction industry has long been plagued by high labor costs and long construction cycles, making housing unaffordable for many local families. Tony once worked in the Foshan area of South China, and together with Chinese factories, he developed a modular housing system tailored for the New Zealand and Australian markets. When he saw the modular buildings take shape, Tony realized that these prefabricated houses have huge market potential in Australia's sparsely populated remote areas, as well as in scenarios that need to withstand extreme environments such as earthquakes and heavy snow.

In his interview with Global Times, Tony carefully calculated the cost: for small-scale residential projects with 1-2 buildings in urban Australia, modular buildings imported from China are not cheaper than on-site local construction. "But if you are building high-rise buildings with 3 to 30 floors, modular construction can easily save 25% to 30% of the total cost — not just construction time, but also the overall building cost."

The advantage is even more prominent for remote area projects. Tony cited the example of building a mining camp in the Australian outback: in addition to transporting construction materials and workers, you also need to build temporary accommodation for the construction crew first. Multi-story stacked modular housing imported from China is generally about 30% cheaper than locally built alternatives.

After receiving orders from foreign customers, Yahgee invests tremendous effort in meeting customer requirements. "The early design communication phase takes a relatively long time. Customers send over their design requirements, and we complete the detailed design including all water and electrical systems. After the design is confirmed, we build the steel structure containers in the factory, complete all interior decoration, and lay all the water and electrical pipelines, exactly the same as a normal residential renovation. When everything is finished, we secure the movable furniture inside the house, and ship the whole unit directly. The voyage to Australia takes about 20 days, and after a week of customs clearance, the unit can be transported directly to the site," Zhou Shasha described in detail how Yahgee builds houses that meet overseas customer requirements.