Why Chinese man lived in an airport for 14 years

The man's story is reminiscent of the 2004 film 'The Terminal'. (Representational image)

A Chinese man has been living at an airport for nearly 14 years, choosing to leave home because he did not have the freedom to smoke and drink there.

Wei Jianguo, 60, has set up a makeshift bed and food items at the waiting area of Beijing’s International Capital Airport, according to a Daily Mail report.

The man said he found the airport to be warm and cozy. “I can go back home anytime but I will not be allowed to drink,” he said.

Wei’s home is located 20 kilometres away from the airport, China Daily reported.

Chinese man lives in airport for 14 years - here's why!https://t.co/I0tu87K9Gi

Related stories

• 
  Vertical dramas are 'soap opera on cocaine': They make shows in 30 days, Hollywood takes 2 years
• 
  Reasons to be bearish about China’s rise
• 
  Employee gets fired when boss finds him walking 16,000 steps during sick leave for foot pain

— Behindwoods (@behindwoods) March 31, 2022

"I can't go back home because I have no freedom there," he told the newspaper. "My family told me if I wanted to stay, I had to quit smoking and drinking. If I couldn't do that, I had to give them all my monthly government allowance of 1,000 yuan ($150). But then how would I buy my cigarettes and alcohol?"

Wei  has settled into a routine while living at the Beijing airport. He goes out every morning to shop for breakfast, lunch and a bottle of spirit.  "There's nowhere warmer than here (the airport)", he told China Daily.

The 60-year-old man’s story is reminiscent of the 2004 film The Terminal,  in which a man from a fictional Eastern European country has to live at New York 's JFK airport, albeit for grave reasons. His passport is declared invalid because of a coup in his country. He can neither enter the US nor go back home.

The film was inspired by the story of  Mehran Karimi Nasseri, an Iranian man who lived at an airport in Paris for nearly 18 years. He had lost papers certifying his refugee status during his journey to England via Belgium and France.