Chinese man carries his world on his shoulders

They call him the "Great Snail Man."

Liu Lingchao from Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region is becoming famous worldwide for his creative solution to a series of devastating setbacks.

Several years ago, the 38-year-old man's wife died, then he lost his job. Finally, he lost his house, according to the Austrian Times. The news outlet reports that he began to travel in search of work and sleep under bridges or in empty buildings.

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But the frustrated and innovative Lingchao didn't want to live that way forever, competing for public space with others and becoming soaked in the rain. So he built himself a bamboo hut to sleep in — and he hasn't left home since.

For when it's time to leave, Lingchao lifts his house onto his back and travels onward, selling recyclable drinking bottles on the road, according to the Daily Mail.

He says the hut, built from bamboo and plastic, weighs about 60 kilograms. Photos of its interior show his supplies and bedding all tucked inside. A mobile home in its truest form.

Lingchao joins another Chinese man who invented his own clever housing solution. Daihai Fei couldn't afford the rent in Beijing, so he built himself a tiny egg house using bags, bamboo and other inexpensive materials, according to photos posted by Imagine China.

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Between egg houses and snail huts, these two might have something to teach the world about affordable living.