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Ghost Cities – Incredible Images of China’s Concrete Deserts

By Mike Wheatley | June 20, 2011

China’s stunning economic development is often looked upon with awe by most other countries – no other nation has progressed as rapidly as the Middle Kingdom has over the last 20 years or so.

But unfortunately, as our Chinese friends are beginning to learn, such rapid economic success does come with a price – and in China’s case, a most unusual one at that. One of the strangest phenomenons China is current experiencing is that of the ghost town – huge great urban expanses that remain completely uninhabited.

Zhengzhou - A ghost town. Courtesy of Daily Mail

 

China is undergoing an enormous transformation – yet much of it is completely devoid of all sense. They are constructing huge housing projects that nobody can afford, and in the case of places like Erenhot or Ordos, they are building brand cities in the middle of nowhere – urban centers that remain almost completely uninhabited.

Uninhabited residential towers in Zhengzhou. Courtesy of Daily Mail

 

Incredible satellite images show a number of cities that lie completely empty, including some that are twice as big as Los Angeles. A recent report showed that over 70 million homes in China lie uninhabited while it continues to build on average 10 completely new cities each year. More worrying, China has recently announced that they are to step up construction to 20 cities each year for the next twenty years!

Kangbashi, a city that can house 1.5 million people, lies empty. Courtesy of Daily Mail

 

One incredible example is the empty city of Kangbashi, which can be found in Inner Mongolia. Originally planned as a major urban center for the nearby Ordos city, it boasts of office towers and apartment buildings, administrative centers, recreational facilities, theatres, museums and sports centers, together with homes for thousands of families – yet the entire city is practically deserted.

70 million new homes in China lie uninhabited thanks to exorbitant prices out of reach of all but the country's richest. Courtesy of Time

“China uses more cement, more steel and more iron ore than any other country in the world, and it’s all being wasted on railways that people will never use, roads that will never be driven on and cities that nobody lives in,” says Gillem Tulloch of Forensic Asia Limited. “It feels eerie, walking through a concrete jungle that no one lives in.”

China's Ghost Cities and Malls
Mike Wheatley is the senior editor at Realty Biz News. Got a real estate related news article you wish to share, contact Mike at [email protected].
  • 3 comments on “Ghost Cities – Incredible Images of China’s Concrete Deserts”

    1. OH LOOK AT THE BRAINWASHED COMMIE LIVING IN A FANTASY WORLD. THE CRASH IS COMING OLE' UNCLE B

    2. Don't worry Yankee Doodle! American Ford to the rescue! Ford has put up $350 millions of your dollars and all your patents, "Trade secrets" even corporate 'Proprietary Secrets, up to build a "Transmission Plant" in China, to furnish transmissions for all Ford products world-wide! Soon, these streets will be filled with Chinese workers, happy to build transmissions for your cars, all over the world! The cities are already in place, land reserved, and nuclear/electric-bullet train serviced, for our people, even the supply-line for food, sewage recovery, electricity, have all been installed, tested, ready to go! We await your job-exports, and will do the American Ford name-plate proud with inexpensive, quality, Chinese craftsmanship in our new, ultra-modern, completely automated computer controlled dormitory furnished, production facilities. Thank You again, from the bottom of our hearts.

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