A property developer in the Chinese city of Changsha has been slammed by homebuyers for deceiving them by promising “high vegetation cover” and “park views”, and delivering a public area covered in a blue plastic material to look like a lake.

To say that homeowners in a new residential complex in central China were less than impressed when they picked up their keys earlier this week would be an understatement. Having been drawn in by developer Changsha Shiji Yujing Real Estate with promises of natural vegetation and a “park lifestyle”, they were expecting the public area to look like an idylic paradise. However, all they got was a fake lake made out of a blue, plastic material, complete with a small timber bridge. The pavement decoration does in fact create the illusion of a lake when seen from above, but it’s not exactly what residents were hoping for.

“So I’m supposed to be standing in the middle of blue water, which in fact doesn’t exist. There is no rock or plants,” one homeowner said.

“We’re very unhappy about these grass block pavers. They’re usually used for driveways or car parks,” another disgruntled resided added. “But this is not the car park area. It’s the open area right outside each building gate, and they call it vegetation.”

Instead of being covered with vegetation, the grass block paving was only covered with yellow mud and dried up turf, which one resident said was insulting to homeowners’ IQs.

Developer Changsha Shiji Yujing Real Estate responded that it had never promised an artificial lake inside its apartment complex, although its brochure did hint at something more than a plastic lake. “The days pass slowly, as if you’ve fallen into Peach Blossom Land,” its brochure read, referring to an old fable.

A company representative told reporters that all the features had been implemented “satisfactory” (according to government standards), adding that they would meet with homeowners to try and solve some of the issues.

This case has been described as a perfect example of “cha bu duo” , which translates as “close enough”, an extensively documented phenomenon closely tied to modern Chinese culture.