Dwelling Narrowness (Wo Ju), a popular domestic TV opera which depicts the lives of modern-day young people under the pressure of rocketing housing prices.

2009年，一部由长篇小说改编的同名电视剧《蜗居》（Dwelling Narrowness）横扫电视荧屏，成了大家街谈巷议的焦点。高房价（high housing prices）的压力，做房奴（mortgage slave）的辛酸，许多普通百姓都有类似的经历。

国务院总理温家宝2月27日下午接受中国政府网、新华网联合专访，与广大网页在线交流时，也直言：“群众的心情我非常理解。我也知道所谓‘蜗居’的滋味，因为我从小学到离开家的时候，全家五口人只有9平方米的住房……”

“蜗居”的含义是像蜗牛壳一样小的地方。但在英语中，“蜗牛”（snail）一词只有“缓慢”的比喻意义，而无“小”的内涵意义，故不可直接将“蜗居”译为“snail's shelter”。在英语中，人们通常把小得可怜的房间叫做“pigeonhole”，其词义正与“蜗居”相同，故可将“蜗居”一词直接译为“pigeonhole”。在日常表达中，也可以说“dwelling in a narrow space”。

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Internet users from home and abroad reacted enthusiastically and as of 2:59 p.m. they have raised nearly 40,000 questions. The following are some of them:

-- Have you ever watched the TV opera Dwelling Narrowness? (The popular domestic TV opera depicts the lives of modern-day young people under the pressure of rocketing housing prices.)

—— Excerpt from Online questions for Chinese Premier Wen   

In the first eleven months of 2009, China's average home prices reached 4600 yuan (about 673.5 U.S.dollars) per square meter, up 27.8 percent from the same period in 2008.

"With such crazy conditions, owning a house can change your life. You can lose the one you love, or win her over but only to become a mortgage slave," said Zhou Jiantao, a white-collar worker in Shanghai.

Searching for a new flat for himself and his fiancee for more than a half year, he has become dismayed by the skyrocketing home prices in the city.

A popular TV drama called "Dwelling Narrowness" has gained much popularity in China, depicting modern-day young people struggling with the problem of high housing prices.

Even Premier Wen Jiabao mentioned the show during his an online chat with netizens Saturday.

Wen said he connected with the characters in "Dwelling Narrowness" as his five-member family once lived in a nine square meters room for quite a long time when he was a child.

—— Excerpt from Booming real estate sector puts China at crossroads in 2010

A popular TV series that focuses on rising property prices has been controversially taken off air.

Beijing Television stopped broadcasting Dwelling Narrowness (Wo Ju) from Nov 22, though other TV stations, such as Dragon TV based in Shanghai did not.

…

Several years ago, mainland Internet users adopted the term "mortgage slave" to describe young couples who are forced to spend most of their income on paying off their hefty mortgage. Now, within a short time, most young people in big cities like Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou cannot even afford to become mortgage slaves.

—— Excerpt from Plug pulled on popular TV show