For each use of his services, the middleman charged 2 million yuan ($307,125).

Xu Shaoshi, minister of land and resources, said in March that "the administration system of land and resources has become a place where corruption occurs frequently."

And Premier Wen Jiabao called for a fight against the corruption that at times occurs when the government is approving land uses or is seizing land for public purposes.

The notebook caught the attention of higher authorities. A team composed of 100 people under the leadership of Wang Jianming, chief prosecutor of the province, is investigating the case.

The officials under investigation all have influence over the locations of real estate projects, over land use and over construction permits.

Insiders told the Beijing News that Wang Fengling took developers' money in exchange for allowing projects to be bigger than permitted under current regulations and to encroach more than permitted onto lawns.