Chinese ghost towns: why does no one live in them?

Ghost towns are a category of settlements that are sparsely populated or abandoned by residents for various reasons. Be it a decline in economic activity, war, natural and man-made disasters, or other factors that make living in a given territory uncomfortable or impossible. Unlike disappeared cities, they sometimes retain their architectural appearance and infrastructure. Here are three examples of such ghosts.

Large-scale development of residential real estate in China began about 17 years ago, after the introduction of a bill that allowed citizens to buy houses and apartments as their own. The population density in China is 139 people per square kilometer. For comparison, in Russia this figure is 8, and in the United States of America 33. It is not surprising that commercial and government developers, in pursuit of the “easy yuan”, began to build gigantic residential areas and entire cities, with pre-planned infrastructure, cultural facilities, and public institutions and shopping centers. As a result, supply has significantly exceeded demand, and now there are a huge number of ghost towns throughout the country that can hardly be called alive.

Chenggong

Chenggong is a city in Yunan Province, the construction of which began in 2003. The population of the province exceeds 46 million people, and next to the “ghost” there is a city of 7 million. On the territory of Chenggong there are buildings containing more than 100 thousand apartments. One of the city's districts has a developed infrastructure: a school, hospitals, campuses of two universities, a large stadium and a cluster of shops. However, no one lives in the city to this day except security guards and workers.

New Hebi

East of Chenggong, in Henan province, is the coal-mining city of Hebi, which received a ghost younger brother more than twenty years ago. In ancient times, the area was ruled by the last four emperors of the Yin dynasty, and once upon a time the capital of the vassal kingdom of Wei was located nearby. For unknown reasons, Russian tour companies even organize trips to the industrial city of Hebi, during which you can stay in one of the three-star hotels in the city. Unlike its older brother, New Hebi, which is located only forty kilometers from the historical part of the “old” one, is not needed by absolutely anyone. The city's territory covers several hundred square kilometers.

Kangbashi

The city of Kangbashi in Ordos district is a populated area with a population of 1 million people. More than $200 billion have been invested in construction over the past 12 years. At the moment, the city is not even a quarter populated, but government offices have been moved to it from a neighboring settlement. The city is completely landscaped and filled with interesting architectural solutions. Genghis Khan Square in front of the administration, a convenient street layout, a city museum that looks like a giant metal potato, a national theater, shopping centers and a library that imitates a collapsing bookshelf. I just want to remind you: almost no one lives in the city.

In fact, these cities are not as abandoned as they might seem at first glance. Almost every apartment, building and house has its own owner, who lives in a nearby, overpopulated city. Moving problem consists of a lack of jobs, loss of communication with family and loved ones. The development is used by Chinese citizens as an investment object. So, sooner or later, ghost towns will be useful both for the state (financially) and for ordinary Chinese residents who want to move from a buzzing city to a new, not particularly populated territory.

The example of Kangbashi’s “profitability”, compared to other Chinese “ghosts”, is the most transparent. The city was built near large deposits of natural resources, and the faster they begin to be developed, the faster the city will be populated to capacity. The Pudong area of ​​Shanghai, twenty years ago, also looked more like scenery that was erected on the site of rice fields. Now the city's population is more than 3 million people, and it has become the financial and business center of the country.

Empty Chinese cities are a kind of plan for the future, which has nothing to do with the deserted Pripyat after the Chernobyl accident, Detroit, which is emptying due to the closure of factories, Kadychan, which “disappeared” after the collapse of the USSR, and the destroyed city on Hashima Island. They are just waiting for their residents.

P.S: Finally, we suggest you take a walk around Hashima Island and understand that the “ghosts” are completely different everywhere. It’s good that thanks to the “good corporation” you don’t have to go there.

Despite the fact that China is considered the most overpopulated region in the world, it is home to a huge city where no one wants to live. Neither live nor do business. But a lot of money was spent on the construction of this Chinese metropolis, but the city still frightens with its emptiness. What is the reason for this? According to some information from tourists, about 50% of China’s territory is empty due to the fact that they don’t want to live there. The Chinese do not like the cold, and in Ordos the climate is not very good. What will the Chinese government come up with to attract its heat-loving citizens there for permanent residence?

Now the final question. So why then does our Siberia attract the heat-loving Chinese? Or maybe the numbers of China are greatly exaggerated to intimidate the Russians? It is a well-known fact that one type of lie is statistics.

“Post from the past”: Ordos in China is a modern ghost town. The Kangbashi district, designed for more than a million residents, remains deserted even five years after the start of construction. Photo by Michael Christopher Brown.

1.Construction of the Kangbashi area began as part of a government project in Ordos, a city located in the Inner Mongolia province that derives its wealth from coal mining. The area is built up with office buildings, administrative centers, government agencies, museums, theaters and sports grounds, as well as residential areas. But there is one problem. In an area designed for more than a million inhabitants, almost no one still lives.

2. Despite the fact that most of the property has already been purchased and it was planned that the area would be populated by 2010, Kangbashi is still empty.

3. Most of the one and a half million population of Ordos consider Dongsheng, located half an hour’s drive from the empty Kangbashi, their home.

4. Two workers are cleaning the area around the public library building. Per capita income in Ordos is the second highest in the country after Shanghai.

5. Treasury. Workers carry pieces of foam up the stairs leading to the Ordos Museum, which is still unfinished.

6. Monument. A pedestrian walks down the street behind a giant sculpture depicting two horses in Lingyuinli Square, Kangbashi district.

7. Desert highway. View of empty houses.

8. There is a complete lack of business in the city. A pedestrian walks past empty shopping areas. Almost none of the companies wanted to move to the new area.

9. Oppressive silence. The streets are deserted even in the morning, when residents have to go to work.

10. Construction of new facilities in Kangbashi continues despite the fact that the area is not populated.

11. An elderly man pushes a cart as he crosses the road separating completed buildings from those still under construction.

12. Unfinished construction. Workers are chopping the walls of a future shopping center for non-existent residents of an apartment complex.

The largest ghost town is in China (video)

In 2010, the State Electric Networks company of the People's Republic of China conducted a census of electric meters of subscribers from 660 cities. As a result of this event, a rather strange fact emerged. According to the census results, the counters of 65.4 million apartments showed zero. That is, no one lives in these areas. As it turns out, China has been building “ghost” cities since 2000. More than twenty points under construction remain uninhabited. Why does China need empty cities? Let's try to figure it out in the article.

No housing crisis

It's hard to believe that in an overpopulated country where the birth of every child is considered practically a crime, there are empty cities. New buildings, highways, shops, parking lots, kindergartens, and offices are being erected in China. Of course, housing is provided with running water, electricity, and sewerage. Everything is ready for life. However, it is in no hurry to send its citizens to the empty ones. What is the reason for their appearance?

One of the options

Why is China building empty cities? The government of the country sacredly guards the secret, leaving it possible only to speculate on the true purpose of these points. There is an opinion that empty cities in China are just a "duck". However, there are photographs of these uninhabited areas. It’s worth saying here that getting a photo of an empty city is, in general, not difficult. In any, even large, metropolis there is a period when there are no people or cars on the streets. As a rule, this happens early in the morning. Well, if you couldn’t catch such a moment, you can use the well-known Photoshop program. There are, however, objections to this opinion. First of all, it should be said that the Chinese themselves do not deny the existence of such cities. In addition, there are reliable satellite images. They clearly show that at the height of the day there is no one on the streets, and there are no cars in the parking lots.

"Conspiracy Theory"

There is also a belief that every empty city in China rests on huge underground shelters. They are designed to accommodate several hundred million inhabitants. Thus, the Beijing government makes it clear to the authorities in Washington and Moscow that the country is quite ready for As is known, underground shelters are considered the most effective way to protect the population from damaging factors (penetrating radiation, radioactive contamination, radiation).

Empty cities in case of disaster

According to another assumption, the Beijing government, anticipating an imminent change of power in the United States, is preparing housing for its fellow citizens who are currently in America, but will be ready to leave if an economic collapse occurs. A version has also been put forward that empty cities will become a refuge for the inhabitants of the Middle Kingdom when the water covers all coastal territories. And houses are being built in the most remote areas.

Investment

According to another version, empty cities are a monetary contribution from the government. The Beijing authorities considered that it was more profitable to store money in real estate than in Western bank accounts. In this regard, monumental but empty cities are built - just in case. Again, this opinion can be argued. How long can an empty city last? The photos presented in the article fairly fully illustrate these uninhabited areas - some of them have been standing for more than 10 years. They will stand for another 20 years, what will happen to them next? If no one populates the empty cities, they will most likely have to be demolished.

New holiday villages

All empty cities are really built away from the coast. At the same time, the least earthquake-prone areas are selected for their construction. Actually, all this can be explained. If there is a choice of area where to carry out such monumental construction, then it is better to immediately play it safe and provide adequate protection to future residents, at least from earthquakes and floods.

Kanbashi and Ordos

The above is a version of a profitable investment. There is some truth in this assumption. Many owners bought apartments from developers at the initial stages of construction. Now the cost of living space has increased several times. As it became known from some sources, in the city of Ordos, apartments in houses have their own owners. One of its districts - Kanbashi - is located twenty kilometers from the center. It was built in the middle of the desert. The area is designed for approximately 500,000 people. However, it looks completely empty, since about 30 thousand live there permanently. In fact, there are almost no available apartments left in the area. Ordos is considered one of the richest Chinese cities. It sits on deposits of natural gas and coal. At the same time, the Kanbashi area is something like a summer cottage for its residents. They come there for the weekend. It should also be said that the number of people who would like to work and live in Ordos increases every year. It follows from this that apartments in houses, even those built 20 km from the center, are constantly becoming more expensive.

Fly in the ointment

Almost no major undertaking can do without it, even in a country like China. Any large-scale construction is based on government subsidies. Responsible officials are appointed to control the movement of funds. However, not all of them are pure. From time to time someone gets caught committing major thefts and fraud. So, for example, the construction of a fairly large settlement of Qingshuihe began back in 1998. However, over the next ten years it was never completed. By the way, an average city for 500 thousand people is built in China in about 6-7 years. The money allocated for Qingshuihe magically disappeared. The culprits, of course, were found and brought to justice, but the village was never completed. For a long time it has been abandoned and completely uninhabitable. However, the story with this village is more an exception than a rule.

In conclusion

Most experts are still inclined to the version associated with competent economic planning. In China, the population is constantly increasing, houses are being built. People go to work on construction sites and receive a decent salary. At the same time, of course, they all pay taxes. Having savings, people invest them in real estate. They often buy the same apartments that they once built themselves. Thus, there is a uniform settlement of empty areas. According to statistics, every year a huge number of people move from villages to larger settlements. And the former Chinese megacities will soon not be able to accommodate everyone. For those who do not want to live in the village, the government provides the opportunity to purchase an apartment in a new area.

China's vision of territorial policy towards neighboring countries is difficult to understand at first glance. Over the past decade, the country has been ahead of many competitors in the development of industrial industry and economic potential. She has introduced the latest developments in scientific, technical and engineering thought in all spheres of her life. However, it is disconcerting that, despite the obvious success of development, over time, dead cities of china. Having been studying this issue for many years, the Institute of Far Eastern Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences asks the question: why does China want to expand its territories? After all, he has already received some islands for a free economic zone, the so-called “resettlement programs” and has a prolongation of the development of backward regions of Russia.

What empty cities in China are known about?

The “celestial kingdom” itself has in reserve over 60 million newly built apartments and houses with all the amenities and infrastructure “with the latest technology” (parks, stadiums), which, if necessary, can accommodate half of the residents of the post-Soviet space. They are distributed among more than 15 uninhabited cities, among which the main ones are:

• Xishuan;
• Ordos;
• Kangbashi;
• Tianducheng;
• Thames Town.

Xishuan City erected in one of the most severe weather conditions - in the middle of the desert in Inner Mongolia. It has external similarities with the tragically famous city of Pripyat. With rare exceptions, you can see the light in any apartment - there are only a few people here. But the abandoned homes have not been looted - this is largely due to the death penalty law in force in the country.

Highly developed ghost town of Ordos built in 2001 on land rich in mineral resources. This is not a previously abandoned village, but huge areas of empty square meters of completely livable housing. Most of this real estate is sold out even at the start of construction, however, the Chinese themselves are not eager to move in there. They know better places to live, for example, the village of Bama in southern China, where natural and climatic conditions, together with the infrared rays of the sun, the highest activity on the planet, allow you to live over 100 years without disease, spending your time in the desired way.

Kangbashi - a large city that, if it had a population, would have over a million people. It is located near Ordos and was supposed to serve as an urbanization zone for peasants, however, due to the lack of prospects, residents were forced to move to more profitable regions. The time it will take for the city to be at least half populated is unknown.

Tianducheng . The Guangzhou suburb is famous for its replica of the Eiffel Tower, but attempts to make the region look like Paris have failed. Housing prices here are quite high, and the lack of infrastructure completely eliminates the possibility of people settling here. A few local residents are trying to survive on little, so vegetable plantations can be seen even near the city’s architectural monuments.

Thames Town . Due to the city built in 2006, it was planned to expand the scale of Shanghai, but the designer made a mistake. As a result, the predominant number of buildings were one-story houses, which contradicted the original idea of ​​​​settling a large number of residents into the new territory. Currently, only 10% of the area is populated: the Chinese use the constructed dwellings only for country holidays.

China is one of the most densely populated countries and the first largest on the globe. This gives him a lot of problems, forcing him to resort even to the legislative level. Therefore, the fact of building such a number of empty cities in China, some of which claim to be megacities.

Possible reasons for the creation of dead cities

Why do the Chinese allow vast areas to remain empty? Are there really no people among the millions who want to fill these cities? There are several explanations for this phenomenon:

• Most local residents, especially the younger generation, do not have the financial resources to purchase their own home. In terms of the ratio of the cost of an apartment to the average salary, an ordinary Chinese will need about 60 years of work to make such a desired purchase. And those wealthy owners who are able to purchase such properties already have enough real estate to afford living in elite regions. Many refute this opinion, saying that the “heavenly empire” (and now also the construction one) has impressive cash reserves, allowing them to wait for full settlement in abandoned cities of China not to the detriment of the country's capital, even if they remain empty for 5-10 years. This may be so, but here we are talking about the predominant part of the population.
• The policy of the authorities who gave instructions not to settle anyone in these cities. Millions of tourists will bring new buildings and streets to the level of everyday Beijing and Shanghai, further worsening the sanitary conditions of the metropolis. After all, it is precisely because of a misunderstanding of culture, life and the manner of behavior inherent only to the Chinese that representatives of the Caucasian race prefer to limit themselves only to traveling to this country, and not to live here permanently.
• Some of the cities may in the future be intended for people of non-traditional sexual orientation. The crux of the problem lies in the birth control law. Using early pregnancy detection methods, the Chinese began performing abortions in cases of potential female births. As a result, there was a shortage of women, and then an overflow of the population with men. Therefore, a large number of homosexuals has become commonplace in the country. It is possible that abandoned cities in the future may be intended specifically for such human territory.
• The construction of the listed cities is an investment of the money supply that has accumulated recently due to the rapid growth of the economy for the subsequent resettlement there of their own citizens: workers of factories, factories and workshops, who will not neglect mortgage lending.
• And finally, the theory of the military concept, which characterizes the true face of the “Eastern friend” and returns to the understanding of the motivation for the construction of the Great Wall of China. Apartment and private buildings, as well as infrastructure facilities with basement bunkers for shelter, designed for hundreds of thousands of people. Together with the wide concrete roads towards Russia that can withstand the load of heavy equipment, they suggest a possible attack from China, and the devastated cities, in this case, suggest the creation of backup housing for the surviving soldiers after a nuclear counterattack. It is likely that such “threatening” buildings could have served as a lesson from someone else’s mistake - the experience of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

To summarize this topic, one thing you need to understand is that all these cities are multi-billion dollar investments, so they are abandoned only for a while. It is difficult to predict an event that will precede the global settlement of empty territories.

08.08.2013

The truly phenomenal construction boom that swept China at the beginning of the 21st century gave rise to an amazing phenomenon in the real estate market - ghost towns built “in reserve.”

Empty blocks of high-rise buildings and huge complexes of office skyscrapers, deserted streets with flashing traffic lights, hypermarkets without goods and customers, kindergartens without children, universities without students, wide avenues without cars, abandoned amusement parks, theaters and museums without visitors - no, this not the setting of another post-apocalyptic blockbuster. These are the realities of modern China - ghost towns, the number of which has exceeded two dozen, millions of comfortable square meters, where no one lives.

At one time, China set itself a number of strategic tasks, the solution of which is the key to the existence of the state: maintaining high rates of economic growth; providing the population with work; large-scale urbanization; industrialization and multifaceted modernization of the economy; utilization of free finances flooding the country due to trade surpluses, the undervalued yuan and foreign investment.

Construction turned out to be the panacea that allows us to simultaneously solve all these problems. John Maynard Keynes once proposed “digging holes and then filling them in again” as a cure for recession. China developed this idea a little and, in addition to digging holes, began to build cities, bridges, roads, factories, turning the construction industry into one of the main engines of the economy.

However, the generous “pumping up” of construction investments and gigantic volumes of free financial resources ultimately led to the formation of a huge oversupply of real estate on the Chinese market. In 2011, the State Grid Company of China released data for 660 cities. And it turned out that in 65 million apartments no one used electricity, in other words, they were empty. This amount of housing would be enough to resettle there at least 200 million people - all residents of Moscow, St. Petersburg, Belarus, Moldova, Ukraine, France and the UK combined.

New areas of the Suzhou metropolis in the east of the country in the lower reaches of the Yangtze. Even Soviet architects who knew a lot about building new cities would envy the scope of the urban planning plan, but pay attention to the number of cars on these wide and completely deserted avenues.

Xinyang city in Henan province. Central square with the city administration building. The territory is completely landscaped, but there is no one to use it.

Dongguan city in southern China. In 2005, the New South China Mall opened here, the second largest shopping and entertainment complex in the world by total area after the famous DubaiMall. The huge building, designed for 2,350 stores, has been virtually completely empty since its opening. However, the complex is not closed and continues to be maintained in working order.

The city of Qianducheng near Shanghai. Built in 2007, it is a smaller copy of Paris, even with its own Eiffel Tower. Despite the picturesque architectural surroundings, which are so unusual for the residents of the country, the area, designed for 100,000 inhabitants, is popular only with newlyweds who are greedy for a beautiful picture for their wedding photographs. Most of the apartments in the “Parisian” residential buildings of the Shanghai suburb have not found their owners.

Chenggong, a satellite city of 6 million Kunming. It is considered as the main reserve for the expansion of the neighboring metropolis. Huge funds have been successfully mastered here, but the residential high-rises gaping with window openings have not yet found their “beneficiaries”.

Kanbashi, Ordos city district. The most famous of Chinese ghost towns. It grew up over 6-7 years right in the middle of the desert in Inner Mongolia, standing on very large deposits of coal and natural gas. Capable of accommodating up to 1 million inhabitants, but is now barely 20% occupied.

Of course, in the Celestial Empire with its countless population there are many who want to improve their living conditions. So why are ghost towns empty? Firstly, many of them were built far from busy trade routes and large enterprises, far from civilization. Secondly, not every Chinese is able to “raise” a loan to buy an apartment. Thirdly, decisions on construction projects are often made to the detriment of economic and environmental feasibility. One such example is Qingshuihe, a village near the capital of Inner Mongolia. Construction of Qingshuihe began in 1998 and was finally abandoned in 2008 due to lack of funds. Local officials were prosecuted, and the village was left unfinished and completely uninhabitable. There are also examples of cities built in close proximity to mountains of phosphogypsum, a highly toxic waste.

Some experts suggest that the presence of such a frightening number of empty square meters is a dangerous anomaly, a soap bubble that is bound to burst, leading to a severe economic crisis. However, in China, where the annual growth of the urban population is 10-12 million people, they firmly believe that ghost towns will sooner or later be populated, even if in some places they will stand empty for several years. “This is a huge loss!” - you say. Yes, but the Celestial Empire has so much money today that it can afford it. In addition, in China there are already examples of how insane expenses that seemed to go “nowhere” after some time brought impressive returns. In particular, the Shanghai Pundong district 10 years ago resembled a lifeless desert dotted with skyscrapers, but today it is a thriving and prestigious corner of the metropolis, accommodating 5.5 million people.