Web Urbanist just covered a dangerous and common Chinese demolition method. The article mentions an apartment building that was demolished the same year it was built (2011) due to poor planning.
http://weburbanist.com/2012/01/08/high-anxiety-rooftop-excav...
That article specifically says "Believe it or not, in China at least, demolition via rooftop excavator is the safer, cleaner, and above all cheaper option."
But yeah, that looks crazy.