Property stocks also dragged in Hong Kong, with China Resources Land down 2.8% and Sino Land losing 2.6%.

WSJ: Asia Slips on Europe Worries

Citigroup, for example, put a strong buy recommendation on China Resources Land, a property company, in mid-September, saying the share price could appreciate by 20%.

ECONOMIST: Share prices in China have taken on a life of their own

The stock of major property developer China Resources Land Ltd.

WSJ: City Lights Shine for Equities in China

China Resources Land Ltd.

WSJ: Asian Markets End Mostly Lower

The official view relies to a large extent on the theory, put forward by Thomas Malthus in 1798, that China has insufficient land and natural resources to support its population.

WSJ: China's One-Child Plan Faces New Fire

The Ministry of Land and Resources said Sunday that China will strengthen the survey and appraisal of shale gas in 2012 to expedite discovery and development of China shale deposits.

FORBES: China Closer To Joining Shale Gas Fracking Craze

They are among China's poorest, the 45 million people across the land with pitiful infrastructure and virtually no resources.

CNN: ASIANOW - TIME Asia | Visions of China: Mengla

"The companies are looking for cheaper resources, cheaper land, cheaper labor in the home provinces, like in the rural remote provinces in China, " Suki Chung, executive director, Labor Action China, told CNN.

CNN: China's workforce at a crossroads