Chinas Ghost Cities

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And Now Presenting: Amazing Satellite Images Of The Ghost Cities Of China Chandni Rathod and Gus Lubin | Dec. 14, 2010, 4:15 PM |

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The hottest market in the hottest economy in the world is Chinese real estate. The big question is how vulnerable is this market to a crash. One red flag is the vast number of vacant homes spread through China, by some estimates up to 64 million vacant homes. We've tracked down satellite photos of these unnerving places, based on a report from Forensic Asia Limited. They call it a clear sign of a bubble: "There’s city after city full of empty streets and vast government buildings, some in the most inhospitable locations. It is the modern equivalent of building pyramids. With 20 new cities being built every year, we hope to be able to expand our list going forward."

Here's China's most famous ghost city: Ordos

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There are no cars in the city, except for a few dozen parked at the glamorous government center

Ordos even has an avant-garde art museum -- totally empty

Ordos Museum Street View Image: Panoramio

Here's China's biggest ghost city: Zhengzhou New District

This $19 billion development is packed with blocks of empty houses

Like Ordos, Zhengzhou New District has glamorous public buildings

Image: Google Maps

Zhengzhou New District residential towers -- EMPTY

Empty roads in Zhengzhou. Image: Panoramio

Here's a rendering of Zhengdong New District Wetland Park (people added with Photoshop)

Image: Panoramio

This city was built in the middle of a desert: Erenhot, Xilin Gol, Inner Mongolia

Half of Erenhot is empty. The other half is unfinished

Is that a hotel in Erenhot?

Image: Google Maps

See that orange area to the north-east of the Xinyang?

It's a giant new development, which doesn't even have a name yet.

No cars in the city except for approximately 100 clustered around the government headquarters

The ghost city of Dantu has been mostly empty for over a decade

In most neighborhoods of Dantu, there are no cars, no signs of life

Image: Google Maps

The mostly empty city of Bayannao’er, which boasts a beautiful town hall and World Banksponsored water reclamation building

Now here's Kangbashi, a new city with capacity for 300,000 -- that houses 30,000

Finally, here's a giant new campus for Yunnan University, which was built to accommodate 2.3 million students. It has 11,000 enrolled.

One of many shocking aspects of the biggest growth spurt ever 15 More Facts About China That Will Blow Your Mind >

Tags: Features, China, Real Estate, Bubbles | Get Alerts for these topics »

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ghgv on Dec 15, 6:36 PM said: @tard: this is in case of a nuclear attack that the survivors have a place to reproduce

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Jason Farmer on Dec 16, 1:19 PM said: @tard: "tard", your name seems very appropriate!

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Dargoola on Dec 14, 4:24 PM said: Don't you get it by now? They built these places for you!! That's where millions of Americans are going as the economy heads further South. You'll be selling your albatross in Florida so you can buy fresh, appreciating property with full amenities thanks to cheaper labor. Please to enjoy!

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Gary Anderson (URL) on Dec 14, 5:57 PM said: @Dargoola: They will have a Bracero program with red white and blue cards instead of green cards.

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slapshod on Dec 14, 8:18 PM said: @Gary Anderson: It could wind up that way. Or an indentured servitude program. More likely they'll just use excess labor from other Asian countries because it's way cheaper than importing Americans. Also, if history is any guide, the Japanese are still a bit bigoted towards Gaijin immigrants. They give preference to other Asians even for filling skilled/semi-skilled positions.

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But before that, China still has more than the entire population of the US from their own countryside to fill unskilled labor jobs and they'll take care of their own first. There is a huge oversupply of unskilled labor everywhere. Even here in the US. It's our cost of doing business that makes us uncompetitive, not a lack of available manpower. The days of needing mass immigration to build economies are over. The industries are just moving to where the cost of doing business is cheapest, rather than the labor moving to where the industries are. It's cheaper to move buildings and middle management than transport and

re-house and assimilate millions or billions of individual workers. Corporate headquarters will end up in resort nations with good security and schools. The only exception are people whose education/skills/existing wealth put them way to the right of the bell curve in driving development. The two-percenters who really are something special in the global marketplace. Reply

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Scott in Atlanta on Dec 17, 9:55 AM said:

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@icetrout: "Slave-labor is the cheapest labor there is" No, surely it is not when productivity is taken into account. Salaried employees, working under incentives, are the most productive in the world, and the cheapest per unit of output. That is the main reason why slavery failed - it could not survive in an industrial era.

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havbrush on Dec 17, 1:25 PM said:

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Flag as Offensive @Scott in Atlanta: Ahhh . . . slavery still exists today but not openly and legalized like it was here in the 19th century. Legal slavery didn't fail because of the industrial age as that development came about largely after the Emancipation Proclamation. And it didn't fail, unfortunately, because of moral reasons as I would like to be able to say about my country. Slavery failed because of politics. Lincoln wanted to save the Union and if freeing slaves was the way to do it he would free them. If keeping the institution of slavery would save the Union he wouldn't have done that. "If I could save the Union without freeing any slave I would do it, and if I could save it by freeing some and leaving others alone I would also do that," he wrote in a letter to Horace Greeley, the editor of the New York Tribune. Fortunately for the country, Lincoln's "better angels" prevailed and he, pushed by black abolistionists and radicals from his own Republican party (it was, at the time, the more progressive party) pressed for the passage of the 13th amendment which abolished slavery. Industry had nothing to do with it as free, non-skilled labor is always better than paid non-skilled labor in a capitalist system that always seeks out the lowest cost of doing business.

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ac on Dec 18, 8:35 AM said:

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@havbrush: slavery ended when the English Navy said so, way before Lincoln. Please try to keep up

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Iain on Dec 18, 11:14 PM said: @havbrush: @havbrush

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You are wrong. Slavery is expensive because the people that own them have to pay for their housing and to feed them. Reply

mh on Dec 20, 7:52 AM said: @Scott in Atlanta: Very interesting, I never heard about such explanation. Can you add some links related to this issue?

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marcus in LA on Dec 20, 11:06 AM said: @ac: So you are saying that slaves couldn't reproduce ?

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David W on Dec 21, 1:44 PM said:

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Flag as Offensive @Iain: @havbrush - Unfortunately, slavery has NOT been eradicated. And apparently, it is cheap enough that even middle- to uppermiddle class could afford the cost. There are also people that will 'indenture' themselves so as to have a place to live and food to eat. they seem to believe that this is the only way for them to survive. There are still others that did not make that choice, their families did, and so they feel obligated to work for their family's honor.

Look around, investigate. This is not ever found on the front pages of any newspaper. But it's there. It's in the US, Canada, all over Europe, South and Central America, and all over Asia and Africa. Slaves will usually live in a small room in their 'owner's' home (or someplace on the property), and how expensive are left-overs? Some people call them 'Servants', others might decribe them as some distant relative they are trying to help have a 'better life'. An Indentured Person will probably commute back and forth, but on occasion will be afforded a small apartment on the property (maybe over a garage). Know anbody like this? Either side. Reply

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jomamas on Dec 29, 12:59 AM said: @Scott in Atlanta: I'm sorry that is flat out wrong.

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Slavery is alive and well in many places in the world. The middle east is built by slave labor. High-earning Americans don't realize how good they have it and don't know how to work a hard day in their lives. I wish you were correct, but you are not. Even today, the world is powered by indentured servitude. Reply

Simon on Jan 3, 2:19 PM said: @ac: @Havbrush - actually, slavery was first 'abolished' in 1793, in Upper Canada (now the Province of Ontario) by Lt. Governor John Graves Simcoe. That's 40 years before the British Parliament's 'Slavery Abolition Act'. (Although existing slaves could be retained, no new slaves could be brought into Upper Canada.) Known as the Act Against Slavery, it was the first such legislation ever passed.

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Anyway, with the exception of true slavery (as still practiced in certain parts of the world), talk of 'slavery' in the West is non-sense. Such talk is just an excuse for failure, and a reason for the usual suspects to complain about Western civilization. Booooring! Reply

Dartmouth '11 on Jan 10, 4:56 PM said:

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Flag as Offensive @Eryximachus: @Eryximachus - you're fairly bigoted to suggest that "interbreeding," has raised the average IQ of American blacks a full 10 points over their cousins." Anyone with even a basic knowledge of historically discredit ideas in Psychology or genetics would know that concepts of Eugenics in relation to racial superiority have been discredited or are currently in dispute (and will most likely be further discredited). Arguments such as the Bell Curve which have been reintroduced to society every few decades or so have constantly been disproved by studies that show that even controlling for IQ African Americans make less money and have a lower socioeconomic outlook. What this means is that African Americans with a 120 IQ when compared to Caucasians of the exact same IQ are shown to have a lower socioeconomic outlook and on average make less money in life; something is preventing them from achieving the same prospects as similar whites. That something is environment. Furthermore such arguments of superiority based on IQ scores and their measure of the ability to create rational thought accurately is foolish. The WISC and WAIS tests published by David Wechsler were designed to identify students with sub average scores (and address their learning needs), they were not relevant or designed to measure those above average. Higher IQ scores although indicative of higher education are alone not accurate measures of innate intelligence (environment does play a role as well... a rose cannot flourish without nourishment). Instead they just show that you know the capital city of Bangkok, can answer questions more rapidly than your peers or that you're well educated, etc. Studies on those with IQs of 140 or higher have failed to prove a superiority effect and none of these individuals in California (where the specific study I'm referencing was undertaken over a multiple decade period) ever received a Nobel prize or accolade of similar achievement. Instead this study revealed quite predictably that individuals with higher IQs do work in higher fields of employment than individuals with lower IQs; something educational levels or socioeconmic status could predict. Lastly studies on things such as rote memory and the ability to react to stimuli are equivalent across the racial landscape; none are superior to the other. Now to state African Americans, "have made out like bandits" falls short of prudent investigation. African Americans have the lowest average socioeconomic status of all races, they as well as other minority groups are vastly underrepresented in prestigious occupations (you might cite Obama but remember he is the first minority of 44 presidents and he is half white.). Despite all the Affirmative action programs and other means African Americans are not rising in certain aspects of society nor in institutions such as law school where their selection rates are declining. These declines can be attributed to relative (not actual) declines in test scores and increases in application / competition to these prestigious institutions. Studies on test scores and their predictability have proven that African Americans with lower test scores typically graduate at the same rate when compared to whites of higher test scores. This would suggest that a test bias is inherent to the score. Studies on voting rates have shown that college educated blacks vote at higher rates than college educated whites, and that at each level of the socioeconomic spectrum this effect holds true. The reduced overall rate of voting for blacks when compared to whites has been attributed to lower average educational attainment. My point is that blacks that actually do make it to college are actually out performing Caucasians of equal scores due to the fact that these tests are in fact bias and when African Americans achieve similar scores they may be equal to those of higher status whites. This isn't to suggest that whites are inferior in any way, but rather to state that the tests underestimate the academic accolades of African Americans so when relative scores (adjusting for graduation rates, gpa, etc) are compared rather than actual scores this effect dissipates. And maybe if you knew something about sociology and family dynamic (My sister is a sociology and religion major at Dartmouth College, I'm a Government and Psychology Double Major at Dartmouth and my brother was a Computer Science Major here at Dartmouth College, hence why I know a lot about different fields) you'd understand that discrimination of employment and low socioeconomic status attainment as well as historic discrimination in granting wealth building programs such as loans for housing to the African American community has devastated the community in the education, wealth attainment and many other realms of stable socioeconomic building. Now let's address your comments on Africa. Africa is home to some of the fastest developing nations in the world. This can be largely attributed to globalization, aid, increasing educational attainment, scientific achievement and natural resources. However some issues such as colonization and the lasting effects of this institution in hindering Africa's growth should be addressed. Many of the wars / genocides such as in Rwanda, and now Darfur were caused by historic biases between the opposing factions and more importantly inadequate means of government left to these states by the former European countries that vacated them. In Darfur disputes between representation in the government, natural resource allocation, and general power can all be sourced to the fact that northern and southern Darfur were governed by two separate countries (British and I think Dutch but I may be wrong) and were united under a single border when these countries abruptly left after systematic exploitation. The political landscapes and power structures / economies were vastly different between the two factions and ultimately lead to a superiority complex in the north (which claimed the vast majority of the power in the new government). Today, other factors are at play such as global warming (drought), outside funding and weaponization granted by wealthy countries in need of natural resources (precious metals, jewels, oil/ natural gas). Altogether the west is as much to blame for the nightmare in Africa as Africans themselves (let's not forget slavery or today's blood diamond/ precious metal based conflicts). Still I'll admit these matters are up to debate. Nonetheless the growth in African economies, the urbanization of their cities, and literacy rates of their countries should not be ignored. Remember countries such as Egypt are part of Africa, and many building blocks of math later advanced in Greek culture and China were invented in Timbuktu. Africa wasn't traditionally a poor continent, ancient Europeans and other cultures respected Africans, their ideas, and their wealth. But colonization and slavery changed that. Lastly don't forget that there are third world countries (Guyana which is in Africa) with higher literacy rates than the United States. Are these individuals living like "animals?" War is war, and over the next century or so Africa will reemerge as a strong world player. If the national debt and a materialistic consumption mindset isn't addressed in the future, it might just be America that's headed to the dumps.

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fred@# on Dec 14, 4:32 PM said: Are you sure that's not Detroit? Reply

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Robt on Dec 14, 6:56 PM said: @fred@#: Even those ghost cities look better than Detroit...

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last word on Dec 14, 11:03 PM said: @Robt: What?! Detroit !? The streets are empty because people are busy at work...

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quadephilip (URL) on Dec 15, 4:04 AM said: @Robt: :) good point, who knows whether this Satellite is working on the morning or midnight

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ppip on Dec 15, 4:42 AM said: @quadephilip: The sun shines at midnight moron.

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Not Detroit on Dec 15, 3:14 PM said: @Robt: Nope! Not Detroit -- nothing is on fire!!

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wadikitty on Dec 16, 6:06 PM said: @Not Detroit: And none of the windows are broken. The buildings are also new.

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K Newton on Dec 17, 7:53 PM said: @wadikitty: We'll have plenty of water here in Detroit, while a lot of you folks will be buying it from Haliburton for $20 a gallon.

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Yep on Dec 20, 8:14 PM said: @wadikitty: That is because it is not Detroit.

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5kidsnadog on Dec 21, 8:27 AM said: @K Newton: Not if Kwame or any of his cronies has anything to say about it! They'll charge MORE than $20/gal.

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Feast Your Eyes On It on Dec 14, 4:34 PM said: History in the making, folks.

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We are witnesses to a country building 64 million plus buildings that stand empty while they pretend it's a new era or some such thing. This will one day be added to the "Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds" update. Reply

Conspiracy Nut on Dec 14, 9:12 PM said:

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@Feast Your Eyes On It: They are only empty because China has not yet grown into them or invaded somewhere like USA and

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shipped all the surviving American women to these cities. Reply

Poikilos on Dec 15, 12:38 AM said:

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@Conspiracy Nut: Why on Earth would anyone want American women??

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vincentlaw on Dec 15, 10:32 PM said: @Poikilos: they are greatly desired in china because american women's big belly flab makes good nigh pillow

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Redstrip on Dec 16, 9:41 PM said: @Feast Your Eyes On It: American women will go to Africa or Jamaica. Coalburner paradise

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bryan10rae on Dec 18, 11:48 AM said: @vincentlaw: funniest thing ive read for a while thanks,

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poch333 on Dec 18, 5:37 PM said: @vincentlaw: Yes, very true!

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But they are also greatly desired because they marvel at these women's extreme sense of entitlement. For it is very rare in less-fortunate countries like China. Let us hope that sometime in the future, Chinese women get this same attitude towards life, for their own sake. And then China will truly have become, a developed nation. Reply

uli on Dec 19, 11:07 PM said: @poch333: A busload of geeky guys with small penis issues who can't get laid back home have had their say.

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bayareadud3 on Dec 20, 1:13 AM said: @uli: And now the women have had THEIR say.

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testy on Dec 20, 2:10 PM said: @uli: Oh, well said!

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testy on Dec 20, 2:10 PM said: @uli: Oh, well said!

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blkswan on Dec 21, 1:19 AM said: @uli: Lots of hate for someone who said that american women feel entitled, and yet not a peep about vincentlaw's comment about their belly flab? Ouch, you must be one of the entitled ones. So I take it that even you agree that american women are FAT. Reply

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ptt on Dec 21, 6:10 AM said: @vincentlaw: LOL vincentlaw! So they're fat AND feel entitled??

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discussion on Dec 14, 4:38 PM said: Empty? It must bet true. I see no one walking the dog from these pictures :0

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I know they are many empty apts but 64 million must be with the BI math Reply

Brewskie on Dec 14, 6:26 PM said: @discussion : No, it's true (http://www.asianews.it/news-en/Crisis-in-China:-64-million-empty-apartments-19459.html? source=patrick.net).

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Ordos, which sits in inner Mongolia and was built for 1 million citizens, remains sparsely populated after five years. (http://blogs.wsj.com/chinarealtime/2010/05/12/revisiting-chinas-empty-city-of-ordos/) China maintains a "If you build it, they will come" attitude toward development. What's often happened is, China will build a brand new spanking city near an old one, where everyone's content to live at. The city initially sits vacated, but fills to the brim after some time. Of course they typically don't take five years to fill, so Ordos is having trouble. Because of China's red hot property market, prices have spiraled out of the pocket books of many Chinese. The 64 million empty properties referred to earlier are speculative bets, picked up in effort to flip for a quick buck. They're not rented out because renting diminishes the value; many are vacant apartments minus appliances, wiring, furniture, toilets and water pipes - empty space with walls. Reply

Charles Channing on Dec 15, 4:16 PM said: @discussion : No one's walking the dog because it's not dinner time.

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veritsca on Dec 15, 9:14 PM said: @Brewskie: Are you sure those aren't crop circles--sort of an advanced and technologically superior variety compared to the ones we've got?

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Rich on Dec 16, 8:48 AM said:

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@Brewskie: So these are all speculative projects...built in the hope that "Build it and they will come"? It so strange to have this huge commitment of money, on a hope only. There must be a LOT of hope in the minds of PRIVATE developers there. This is proof that these are GOVERNMENT backed developments, that developers build, for future rewards. Are these rewards guaranteed? I'm trying to understand how the Chinese view risk? Perhaps there is so much cash floating around, that risk is NOT a factor? What's more amazing is how this "all or nothing" spirit. In the USA, these would be built much more incrementally....and never at this scale..No one would take the risk of building so much, and holding it for so LONG....without people. Incredible. Reply

Capt. Colin Cameron-Tough on Dec 16, 10:49 AM said: @discussion : Because the Chinese eat dogs. Along with rice it is quite tasty... or so I have been led to believe.

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Lehmamaki on Dec 17, 7:14 AM said:

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@Rich: @ rich - All large "private" ventures in China are effectively, and often explicitly, backed by the government. These kind of large developments are not built because the developers expects to profit from the housing market. They are built because the developer is profiting from their connections in the government, and usually they are built simply because the government so decrees. It is crony capitalism on steroids and bears no relation any "markets" as we would recognize them. Reply

Brewskie on Dec 17, 1:04 PM said: @veritsca: We have Las Vegas, the Miami condo market and suburban neighborhoods turning ghetto. They have large cities almost entirely empty; they have enough vacant property to house every US family, and still have enough left over for a glut. Reply

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Brewskie on Dec 17, 1:15 PM said:

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Flag as Offensive @Rich: First, wild speculative bubbles always fuel insanity-laced spending sprees - though the Chinese seem to be taking it to the next level. Second, the developers aren't thinking about tomorrow, they're thinking about making money today while the going's good now. Third, the problem stems from the CCP - at the national and provincial and local levels - who try to keep GDP numbers up through endless construction and infrastructure projects built at breakneck speed. Provincial and local bosses are under lots of pressure to meet growth target. (Who wants to be the mayor who didn't meet 8% growth or whatever?)

Anyway, unlike the other China bears, I actually don't wish any ill will on China nor am I intimidated by her rapid development, or her prospects of overtaking the US. In fact, I think China's long-term outlook is good, and I think she'll eventually overtake the US economy. But wild real estate market and manic banking system (plus the CCP's hand meddling), I just don't see her getting there without getting a good dose of economic reality biting her in the face first. Reply

Libertarian on Dec 18, 11:36 AM said: @Lehmamaki: The lone one that got it !

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It coeporatism, or to take Mossolini, fashism - the merg of Government and Buniness, where Government turns omnipotend it is Fascism, but to take Mussolini's definition - corporatism, the merge of government and business, turning government into Omnipotent power. We just witnessed the formation and bust us American housing bubble, and now we witness the exact same developments in red China. They got all the ingredients which it took to form the American bubble, the main difference is the size of this monstrosity, as this monstrosity is a gazillion times larger than the American housing bubble and close to the forming US dollar bubble, which is partly fueling this development in China too.the best of this baby will be surely big enough that even destabilize Chinese Communist Party regime once and for all. So, the outcome of this might be even a promising one, but it sure will be paid for which is more than hefty price, that's probably not worth what we get for it. But I fear there will be no other way around. Reply

guesswho on Dec 19, 6:54 AM said: @discussion : You dont see anyone walking any dogs because they have eaten them all !

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Dargoola on Dec 14, 4:42 PM said: US gov is going to subsidize Chima retirements. Watch.

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Southvalley on Dec 17, 5:31 PM said: @Dargoola: Probably the smartest comment here.

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JoeCitizen on Dec 24, 2:19 AM said: @Dargoola: Yeah u gotta watch that aging Chiman population. I hear they eat cats.

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TH on Dec 14, 4:52 PM said: Picture #19 is certainly not empty. And #17 has more pedestrians visible (several near the bus stop on the left side of the picture) than you'd see in most parts of Phoenix.

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Gus Lubin on Dec 14, 6:47 PM said: @TH: We've updated picture 19 -- that was showing the wrong campus of Yunnan University

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ChasL on Dec 28, 4:25 PM said: @Gus Lubin: Gus, I've emailed you few photos of Ordos full of people, and news of development in Zhengzhou New District selling out. I hope you'll update your story accordingly.

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Advanced Planning on Dec 14, 5:07 PM said: They are planning in advance for an economic boom.

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LMonkey on Dec 14, 5:12 PM said: we'll leave the lights on for yah !

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Neil on Dec 14, 5:32 PM said:

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Empty? Not for long. just wait till the Chinese yuan appreciate against other currencies. Strong yuan, communist government means, the salary that's being decided by the government will get more worth=purchasing power. By time the Chinese will buy there, god knows some ill informed people from up north who believe China will become "a democratic republic". Meanwhile, they keep the scheme going...let Americans buy their cheap crap, bankrupt them, use the surplus to buy gold, and dump the dollar, when it's time. Step by step. Reply

slapshod on Dec 14, 7:13 PM said: @Neil: Spot-on. In 10-20 yrs the US economy will resemble Mexico's. We're being deindustrialized, and it's not an accident.

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Southvalley on Dec 17, 5:34 PM said: @slapshod: I don't thin k it will take 10-20 years. i give 2. with the Freddie Krugers' coming into Congress and Obama's capitualtion on (everything) handing over mo' money to the rich

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Nick on Dec 14, 5:43 PM said: The pyramids have lasted for several thousand years. Even now they are a major tourist attraction.

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And if these Chinese cities are modern equivalent of the pyramids, then eventually people will have some use for these cities too. Perhaps these cities will become a major tourist attraction in the future. Reply

Jonathan on Dec 14, 6:56 PM said:

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@Nick: Sand in the desert lasts for thousands of years? Who knew?

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More importantly is that the pyramids represent a massive destruction of human labor value and time and cost. The Egyptians were stupid enough to waste 20 centuries building worthless temples in the sand while they barely contributed anything to the advancement of humanity. I'm sure Ra is very pleased though; oops, they worship a different god these days. America has contributed more technology, science, innovation, and rational ideas to the planet in 200 years than Egypt did in 5,000 years (and for those idiots that want to attack that point by saying America only contributes war, blah blah blah, you should start with China / Japan / Germany / Britain / France / Russia / Rome / Egypt on those points, they've all killed radically more over their durations in war and slavery). The pyramids are the greatest waste of value in the history of the planet. The only thing even remotely close would be Obama's stimulus. Reply

slapshod on Dec 14, 7:43 PM said: @Nick: The Pyramid analogy doesn't work. Pyramids are an example of something that has no utilitarian value, and are a pure waste of capital no matter what. Houses are quite a bit different. This is more like our own housing bubble. Could be a total bust, or end up as retirement communities. It may or may not turn out to be a total write-off for them in economic terms.

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Our central planners aren't a whole lot smarter, they just wear snazzier clothes and some have corporate titles. The author is confusing an overhang in infrastructure and housing with monument building. Reply

Beth on Dec 15, 10:08 PM said: @Jonathan: Agricultural advancements made by the Egyptians can not be understated, it was indeed a major "advancement of

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humanity." Also, the engineering required for the temples and pyramids they built contributed to the "advancement of humanity," and the only way to really figure out new techniques and make those kind of discoveries is by applying the science and "doing it." Thanks to the rich who sponsored these types of building projects, engineering such as this spread throughout the world via trade routes. Reply

Howard on Dec 16, 5:25 AM said: @Beth: @ Beth

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About the engineering advancements: I'm pretty sure we still don't know how the pyramids were constructed. There are theories, but they don't completely explain how perfectly the stones of the pyramids were set. Some have gone as far as to say the pyramids were built for/by aliens! Reply

Jim on Dec 16, 4:38 PM said:

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@Jonathan: @Johnathon: The Egyptians contributed more to the advancement of culture and science than any other civilization at the time. Additionally, it isn't really fair to say the pyramids are a waste of human labor and time. The Nile has a flood season where the crops can't be tended. During this time, people had nothing to do except cause trouble with each other. The massive building projects put people to work doing something, rather than attacking their neighboring villages. This in turn led to a more stable society, which directly impacted advancements in construction, crop technology, science, culture, and so on. I'd argue that the pyramids sped up human development by centuries because it saved people from conflict and warfare. Beyond the age of the Pyramids, Egypt was the home of the library of Alexandria. This library was perhaps the most important collection of knowledge in the entire history of the world. It was the literal birthplace of science, where the scientific method was invented and first used. To insult their culture by saying they haven't contributed as much technology & science as America, when they actually invented science, is laughable. Reply

Lehmamaki on Dec 17, 7:37 AM said: @Jim: Alexandria, and it's famed library, was not a creation of the Egyptians. Founded by Greeks, populated by Greeks, ruled by Greeks. Greek in language, culture and religion from the day of it's founding to the day it fell to the descendants of Mohammed. As far as being the birthplace of science, Archimedes would strongly object to that characterization.

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Appropriating the accomplishments of others does nothing to advance your argument. Reply

Et tu Blonde on Dec 17, 9:24 AM said:

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@Jonathan: Just now getting to read the comments, albeit late... but I totally agree with one aspect of your message and that is your loyalty to your own (Americans). I'm sad that it has become fad to bash our own...and its something i can't agree with...no mater how fashionable. The joy that some (home grown Americans) glean from 'bashing our own' is a fad that I hope will have a short life span. Et tu Blonde Reply

both eyes open (URL) on Dec 17, 12:03 PM said: @Jonathan: didnt you see the latest article? Computer math is based on ancient Egyptian methods they discovered. so you can say that the greatest technology today, computers, is because of them.......

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tRuTh on Dec 17, 12:47 PM said:

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Flag as Offensive @Jonathan: Jonathan: Whoa, buddy. Looks like the greatest waste of space in human history is you, pal. what a douchebag you are to disrespect an ancient culture whose "religion" is the precursor for all world religions, judeo-christian ones in particular. It's a big word, I know. It means, "comes before". And the 40,000 -plus year empire called "Egypt" by Greeks and ignorami like yourself has produced structures, sciences, and mores that have lasted millennia while nations fought wars for that strategically precious land. America has contributed sloth, ignorance and greed, and after a mere 200 years is now on the precipice of total financial and military disaster. I know that in your moonshine still all you can do is watch fox news, but if you learn to read, there are many good books that can educate you about the REAL state of the world. Your disrespect and jingoism definitely identify you as one of the moronic, talking-point spewing slimebags that now comprise the body politic of a once-promising country that has lost its way and now prepares to be relegated to the trashbin of history. All because of ignorant idiots like you. You ruined the country, "Merry Christmas", a**hole.

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Southvalley on Dec 17, 5:35 PM said: @Jonathan: blah blah blah blah blah blah Reply

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Southvalley on Dec 17, 5:42 PM said: @Jonathan: Then that would apply to Notredame in your "mind" because these were spiritual edifices as well. And will last when we're all dust. Just like a con, art means nothing to you except money

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paddyo on Jan 6, 9:41 PM said:

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@tRuTh: ahahah... what a bunch of left wing dribble. So many personal attacks.... just stick to the argument... oh wait, i forgot, you left wingers tend to attack the person, not the argument. FYI The American military is still going to be kicking ass for at least the next 10-20 years. You and your ilk will be remembering the days of American hegemony with glee once China starts throwing is weight around more and more... China and a human right /climate change/save the forest/whales/frogs agenda... ahahahaha Reply

Sam Shicks on Dec 14, 6:07 PM said: Proof that Communism works better than NeoKeynesianism. Remember, if you don't work 7 days a week, you lose your car and free cooking oil.

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SleepWalking on Dec 14, 10:42 PM said:

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@Sam Shicks: Great post! Even a full-on commie command economy focusing on utilitarian output will blow the doors off of a Keynesian welfare state in terms of resource to growth conversion. That's why the USSR scared the daylights out of the West. We got lucky that they blew so much on their military and let their police state and bureaucracy get out of control. Reagan came along at the perfect moment and repurposed enough of our economy to give us a competitive edge. The jury's still out on whether continuing the China engagement after the USSR fell will be a win. The Chinese aren't even commies or socialists anymore. They're fascist sellouts, just like the US. In the absence of brute force, fascism only works for so long before the people getting knuckled-down on get wise and opt out. The US hasn't needed mass immigration in a long time. Decades probably. Illegals are mostly a market reaction to all the authoritarian distortions. The lazy don't have to work, and the willing/able aren't able to keep enough of their own fruit to make it worth the effort. Collectivism fails in the end because it isn't all that strong in the species to begin with. Putting society ahead of family or self is learned rather than instinctual behavior. We're pack animals by nature, not hive insects. Collectivism gets started when the family unit is destroyed by cliques. Cliques appeal to our venality and result in bigotry. After the family unit is broken down, bigotry of all kinds, and bullying become the norm. The whole global socialist thing is really more cliqueish than individualist, IMO. Millions of people being convinced by the media that they'll be more enlightened and richer than their parents if they accept indoctrination into that belief system. That's why it's so strong. When we get stressed we fall back on collectivism and then individualism. It takes near constant brainwashing and behavioral psychology conditioning to induce the groupthink necessary to force people into collectives. Plenty of evidence in the fall of other civilizations to suggest the masses will choose hunting and gathering or a return to subsistence farming over usury and slavery. Only way to keep socialism going is promise unearned rewards that end up penalizing producers/achievers. When that breaks down, they always resort to fascism which increases forced aspects of compliance. All governments eventually go stale and fall back on fascism. Fascism works more efficiently for awhile, but requires an ever expanding supply of oppressed classes to exploit and bogeymen to scare the masses back into herd mentality. Eventually the protected classes run out of scapegoats and scarecrows. At that point, you get a Marx or a Wallace or a Robespierre, and a popular revolt. Police state crackdowns ensue. The gov't fallsl back on gulags or mass executions or the slaves overthrow their masters. Collapsing Empires usually result in increased freedom for most at the cost of material gain. Collapsing nation-states create a power vacuum and end up REALLY badly (think 'Al Qaeda' or 'Yugoslavia'). That's why I'm a bit leery about globalism and the power vacuum being created. We're essentially setting ourselves up for further power consolidation into regional or global oligarchy or dictatorship. I'd say the banksters are making a pretty strong play in that direction. Plutarchs are the worst of the worst. Rasputin or Machiavelli FTW, anyone? Reply

JMC on Dec 19, 6:06 AM said: @SleepWalking: Nice. Well thought out. But what is going to break the cycle? Where is the next leap forward in human development going to come from?

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RationalRobin on Dec 25, 10:54 AM said: @SleepWalking: for you I recommend,,, www.debatewise.com

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Brewskie on Dec 14, 6:35 PM said: Nice photos. I've held an interest in China's overheated property market for some time, and foresee it crashing at some point. China's long-term prospects may be good, she has a slew of brand new infrastructure to serve her populace, not to mention fleets of factories to produce real goods for real people throughout the world; but I don't believe she'll cross the bridge without shredding some tires first.

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Just as the US property bubble was obvious to those who paid attention, for those who look into China, they too see a real estate bubble that can't last. Reply

Shedboy (URL) on Dec 14, 6:45 PM said: Google Earth images? Hate to tell ya but some of those images could be 5 years old or more. Especially of China. Also many of those images are from the middle of the day when all those towns go to work in a giant factory a few miles away. EVERYBODY works....lots of HD TVs to build to sell to sirry Amelicans.

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Winston on Dec 14, 8:35 PM said: @Shedboy: I checked on the easiest one to key into Google Earth, Ordos, China, and the date of the imagery is Sept. 14, 2009 as indicated in the lower left of the image window.

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Shedboy (URL) on Dec 14, 9:19 PM said: @Winston: Yeah, I went and checked after I shot my mouth off too. Pretty recent and pretty deserted. Looks like a beautiful city though, there were more photos. The towns around Ordos (spell?) were pretty empty too. Inner Mongolia though...bet the rents cheap. Buy a townhouse, have 3 or 4 wives and hang out at the Library all day.

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Jonathan on Dec 14, 6:51 PM said: The Chinese are so stupid it's comical. They signed on to the fake dollar boom, and now it's going to eat them alive too.

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They're destroying a trillion dollars of capital per year in real estate construction that is just massively losing value as it sits there and rots, empty. And that's before their bubble explodes, wiping out a nice $10 trillion in national wealth that they can't afford to lose. A few years from now when the bill comes due, we'll see how their brilliant command economy model is working out. Reply

Winston on Dec 14, 8:39 PM said: @Jonathan: And at that point, I hope they overthrow their repressive government and progress onward to the more benign facade of a representative democracy like ours.

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MWeber on Dec 15, 7:56 AM said: @Jonathan: You are so stupid it's comical.

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"By 2025 China's urban population is expected to rise to 926 million from 572 million in 2005. By 2030 that number will increase to a billion." Where do you think this people will live? Reply

Sir Sagger on Dec 16, 10:10 PM said: @Jonathan: Ar... dude. All they will do is sell the US Treasury Bonds. US down the crapper.

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Comrade_Tovarich on Dec 17, 1:08 AM said: @MWeber: Fifteen years later, they will not be living in these places, which will be quite shabby by then. You should see what Japanese high-rise housing, especially public versions, looks like after 15 years.

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Southvalley on Dec 17, 5:38 PM said: @MWeber: Not gonna happen. Overpopulation is a serious concern. I'm going with the false GDP scam Reply

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Grease_Lightning on Dec 18, 11:57 AM said: @MWeber: Well, even if your estimates about the population are true, they will not be able to live in these houses. In 15 or 20 years, the houses will need extensive repairs due to natural forces.

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Duck24 on Dec 27, 12:43 PM said: @Southvalley: Finally, someone says what is the #1 problem in the world for the past 100 years: human overpopulation. with specific ramifications such as non-human (i.e. animal) and human rights abuse, unjust imprisonment of non-humans (i.e. animals in laboratories, factory farms, fur farms) and humans.

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Chicago Style Politics on Dec 14, 7:23 PM said:

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CENTRAL PLANNING FTW!!!!!

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Communism serves up yet another example of its superiority over capitalism and free markets. Reply

flynmudd on Dec 14, 8:01 PM said: @Chicago Style Politics: Provide historical proof that communism is better than capitalism.

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Clear as mudd on Dec 14, 9:19 PM said: @flynmudd: Why don't you ask him to provide historical proof of your inability to recognize sarcasm?

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MWeber on Dec 15, 8:02 AM said: @flynmudd: Capitalism killed way more innocent people. Way more.

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M. Simon (URL) on Dec 16, 8:34 PM said: @MWeber: Communists only kill the guilty people. Proof? If you are killed by communism you are de facto guilty.

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Seerak on Dec 17, 2:18 AM said: @MWeber: Capitalism is liberty. You are an idiot.

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BigCheese on Dec 17, 2:28 PM said: @Seerak: Watch "Capitalism: A Love Story" for the debunking of the fable that "capitalism is liberty"

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Southvalley on Dec 17, 5:39 PM said: @flynmudd: Totalitarianism is Totalitarianism by any other name...it seems to be contagious these days

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bingcom on Dec 14, 8:22 PM said: >> The pyramids are the greatest waste of value in the history of the planet.

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Disagree. If pyramids can actually connect you to your afterlife, or aliens, then it is not a waste of time. At least, that's what people believed at that time. So, from that perspective, it is logical.

Fast forward to today, "technology, science, innovation, and rational ideas to the planet" are good until a nuke war happens or computers programs control people's lives. 30 years of advancements since computers are certainly a good thing. However, you cannot judge its impact and assume it is good for the next 5000 years. At least the Egyptians haven't skewed our planet so far, which is already a big accomplishment. Obviously, "wasting" time or life on pyramids is part of it. Reply

Tripps on Dec 14, 8:39 PM said: not only could these images be a few years old...i think there is a bigger question

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here it is: what do the CHINESE authorities KNOW is coming that you don't? Are they expecting massive relocation of people to china? maybe for jobs/ new found boom? Are the Chinese about to switch officially away from communism and do some type of hybrid authoritian capitalism? Are the Chinese about to create milllions of new jobs and new middle class folks who will want to live here? if so...the bears are BLOWN out in being constantly negative about emerging markets Reply

Tripps is trippin' on Dec 14, 9:30 PM said: @Tripps: I think you're on to something. I can't speak for anyone else, but I for one eagerly await the opportunity to assemble the latest iteration of Air Jordans for $2 a day.

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Eric on Dec 16, 12:56 PM said: @Tripps: Global warming, with coastal cities flooded and unlivable.

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Jake on Dec 16, 3:16 PM said: @Tripps: Each year, about 20 million people in China move from rural to urban areas. To take pictures of construction sites and call them ghost cities is blatant misinformation. Business Insider pretty much lacks any credibility.

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BillyBob on Dec 14, 9:03 PM said: Yep they better let the BeverlyHill Hillbilly's in as soon as possible or that Cap rate on their investment is down the drain....Central Planning,humm... now where have we heard that before...Oh Yah the defunct Soviet Union...NOT going to work in the long run...bubbles alwaysc snack crakle pop!!!!

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Carlo123 on Dec 14, 9:08 PM said: Personally, I think China is prepping...big time.

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As the world economies explode, small and large, China is preparing to accept another billion....they are preparing for accepting the future masses as they leave the destroyed Europe and elsewhere. Maybe we should all pick out our new homes in China...when we go there to survive the coming difficult times... Think out of the box. Reply

Mike M. on Dec 14, 10:06 PM said: @Carlo123: No free thinking westerner would ever accept living under the Chinese system. You know, we could just selectively default on the bonds that they own if it's a problem. And then they'll cut off our credit and we won't be able to buy stuff from them. But they don't actually make anything we can't make ourselves. Reply

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andrewp111 on Dec 14, 10:06 PM said: Maybe the ChiComs will turn those empty cities into military bases, or into military weapons research cities the way the USSR did. Or perhaps, even into prisons. They will find a use for them eventually.

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ghgv on Dec 15, 6:35 PM said: @andrewp111: this is in case of a nuclear attack that the survivors have a place to reproduce

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Voir Dire on Dec 14, 10:13 PM said: Wow! What a gem of a find. Thank you, Gus, for posting these almost unbelievable satellite photographs that sketchesl a most compelling story begging for the details to be supplied.

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One of the most enviable strengths of the Chinese is the homogeneity of its populace. Same thing with Japan! Japan: In Praise of Homogeneity http://www.amren.com/mtnews/archives/2008/01/in_praise_of_ho.php We, in America, can only imagine such an utopian experience that is the reality of the Japanese. Reply

Comrade_Tovarich on Dec 17, 1:19 AM said:

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Flag as Offensive @Voir Dire: Voir Dire has cleary not spent the past 15+ years in Japan; perhaps VD has never even visited Japan beyond "Akira" or "Pokemon." Might VD enjoy living in 21m2 for $800/mo. and still be 30 minutes from work, hearing all neighbors through the narrow walls, and freezing in winter and baking in summer because there is no insulation in the building, which was built this millenium? VD surely hasn't enjoyed paying 2 months security deposit, 2 months "thank you" money to the landlord, 1 month rent, and 1 month to the apartment agency before moving in.

Perhaps VD means Japanese public housing, which is shoddier still. Or maybe VD refers to Japanese homes, which sound like some of the descriptions above: external bits falling off in a few years, many corners cut (unless you were their to supervise, constantly, the construction). Of course, when land is the main cost, the house gets built with whatever money remains. Voila: instant mass-produced identical shlock. VD seems, frankly, very dumb, in a quaint way. Reply

bog on Dec 17, 1:34 PM said:

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Flag as Offensive @Comrade_Tovarich: Agreed- VD has no clue. I first visited China in 1984. I was an Asian studies major, lived and worked in China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Tokyo and have travelled extensively throughout the region over the past 25+ years. To say that the Chinese are a homogeneous race is complete BS and shows VDs complete ignorance. There are over 80 distinct languages spoken in China (and I'm not talking different accents- these are distinct languages). Likewise, there are over 120+ officially recognized minorities in the PRC, with cultural differences as great or greater than the differences between a Mexican and an Italian. The official language in China is Guo Yu, which literally means national language since it was the only way to unify the country after WW2. The fact that it is based on the Beijing accent of Mandarin is an accident of history, not an example of a unified country.

For all the ignorant speculation about China eating our lunch in the coming years, I will offer the perspective of the US in the 1950s. We had no idea that a social upheaval and battle for environmental rights was on the horizon. China is already and will increasingly feel the stresses of social upheaval and conflict that will make our civil rights battles of the 60s pale in comparison. Even more damaging, the effects of their environmental pollution and their resistance to addressing those concerns will increasingly make China unlivable. As recently as two months ago, the US state department warned US travelers and embassy workers in Beijing that air quality was so bad that even being outside for a short time could cause serious damage to lungs and/or trigger serious medical conditions. So before you buy into the myth of China's superiority, take a step back and examine the facts. Another interesting fact- China currently owns about 810% of outstanding US T-Bills. Significant to be sure, but the vast majority of US debt (about 70-75%) is held by US banks, businesses and average Americans as part of their 401k investments portfolios. Bottom line- calm down, and do not count out the US. And for the bonehead who said the only greater waste of government spending besides the pyramids was the recent stimulus passed almost 2 years ago, I say go ahead, move to China. Remember that 40% of the $830 billion in the stimulus bill was tax cuts. The bulk of the remaining funds went to state governments to pay firefighters, teachers, cops and other essential government services. The remainder went towards much needed infrastructure projects. Stop drinking the Fox News cool-aide made by Rush, GB and the other tools of the rich. You are being played and all the Tea Party hopefuls are gonna be really disappointed when they figure that out. Reply

rere (URL) on Dec 14, 10:59 PM said: good information ... I have read and will be added to my personal knowledge space ... thanks for sharing Reply

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BigWigManufacturer on Dec 18, 5:06 AM said: @zllseo: Please allow me to place an order for 4 million of your led tube. I'll have my secretary cut you a check. Here is looking forward to a long and prosperous relationship between our firms.

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Jon Robertson on Dec 15, 4:26 AM said: Still these ghost cities in China look way better than Detroit! ;-)

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But Google satellite images doesn't mean it looks always like this... ... just the moment it was shot. I have been only a couple of times to China yet, so I can't judge it. But it's the first time I heard this... ... don't we try to create news out of thin air right now? China (Eyewitness Travel Guides)' by Donald Bedford, Deh-Ta Hsiu I have never seen this and I have never been told about it either. Maybe I overlooked something. I am not a China expert, was just a tourist there. Reply

enghou (URL) on Dec 15, 4:27 AM said: (http://sextisfaction.wordpress.com) as long as the monetary policy stays easy, there could be a bit more of such ghost towns in the future, as China tries to use fixed investment growth to compensate for the no longer strong exports growth.

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cdolist (URL) on Dec 16, 2:31 PM said: @enghou: building stuff nobody wants or will ever use is not growth. it might be 'stimulus' to replace private demand with government demand but its not growth.

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if these are sham investments, like CDOs, created to generate bonuses for chinese banking employees.... then the same thing that happened in the US could happen in China when they realize these 'sound investments' are all worthless. and remember how many of our banks 'advised' the chinese? Henry Paulson spent a lot of time over there, and he was the CEO of Goldman while it was creating all these GSAMP subprime securitizations. on top of this, the saddest thing is that all this money could have gone to increase workers wages and safety. instead it went to these worthless empty buildings. of course, the same thing happened in the US too. Reply

Walker on Dec 15, 6:27 AM said: Preparing for the flood of refugees from North Korea's collapse.

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UpChuck on Dec 15, 11:02 AM said: So when is the big Chinese real estate bubble gonna burst??

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frignakle on Dec 15, 1:33 PM said: Check out all the solar power (the deep blue squares on some roofs.)

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How efficient and earth friendly! Reply

Truthful James on Dec 15, 7:09 PM said: The one child policy has meant a huge growth in the elderly population vis-a-vis the younger ones. The absence of factories or industry makes it more likely that these are Sun City's for the old folks. Thus the presence of a city for the Mongolian communist hierarchy..

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It is either that or a relocation for survivors of a nuclear war, given the prevailing wind patterns. Seeing just the urban area, it is harder to judge the location of support facilities -- farms producing agricultural necessities; transportation patterns, including roads, railroads and airports. What do we know about water tables, etc, to support the population. Suely all of this can be Goodle mapped. One thing we do know -- this was not built except by government plan Reply

BrianB in WA on Dec 16, 2:09 AM said:

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Flag as Offensive You know this was such an interesting photo essay that I figured I would read the comments since there would probably be alot of really interesting comments about China's eocnmy and maybe someone commenting with a little more background. Nope too much to ask for. Just of bunch of wankers making comments about things they don't have a clue about. Arrrrgggghhh. Why have Americans become so tedious and obtuse?

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denk on Dec 16, 1:12 PM said: Jonathan on Dec 14, 6:51 PM *The Chinese are so stupid it's comical*

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kid do u get a hard up when they grope ur nuts ? http://tinyurl.com/232a7pc i dunno whether its comical or pathetic ...parents gleefully recording their daughters being molested ! http://tinyurl.com/2cn4427 Reply

denk on Dec 16, 9:15 PM said: @denk: sorri i mean hard on kid

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Joseph Hunter (URL) on Dec 16, 2:20 PM said: This is incredibly fascinating. There's something so inherently creepy about such empty places. Still, if you look at lower Manhattan during the right hours, you'll see zero activity as well.

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cdolist (URL) on Dec 16, 2:21 PM said: looks like Lehman Brothers McAllister Ranch times 1000.

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hmm imagine if every Chinese bank holding this junk on it's balance sheet went the way of Lehman. oh did you know that Chinese banks have purchased big slices of US banks? no? ha ha im sure it will all be fine. now whered i put my rifle and my canned food? Reply

Ster on Dec 16, 2:40 PM said: That's what you can do if your a creditor nation. Us? We still owe the Chinese $1Trillion

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Jake on Dec 16, 3:09 PM said:

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Flag as Offensive Every year, about 20 million people in China move from rural to urban areas. That's the equivalent of 6 Chicagos. Providing a place for all these people to live requires building entire new cities. To take pictures of these cities before people are moved in and calling them ghost cities is nothing more than propaganda and misinformation. Take for example, the statement that Dantu has been been mostly vacant for 10 years is absolutely false. In 2005 it had a population of 370,000, which is more than the population of St. Louis. As for Yunnan University, construction of the new campus didn't even start until 2008, and it is still under construction. The 2.3 million figure is to be its eventual capacity, and the plan is to expand gradually to that number over more than a decade. This article says enrollment is 11,000, but actual current enrollent is closer to 20,000. What sort of publication takes pictures of a construction site and then claims it is a vacant facility? Business Insider has become nothing more than a propaganda outlet that spews misinformation.

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Innocent Bystander on Dec 16, 3:10 PM said:

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Thought this was going to be about the old Chinese ghost cities....ones that were created during the Japanese occupation in WW2. But this was fascinating - these planned cities have been going on for almost 20 years - it's amazing to see how these cities have been built and populated in GuangDong province. Places like Dong Guan and Shenzhen that was a vast wasteland in 2000are now now completely rebuilt. Places where a single hotel stood alone 10 years ago is completely obscured by the surrounding neighborhoods. 15 years ago, there were 8 lane highways supporting 1 lane traffic - today, it's more like 6 lanes and growing. At the same time, China is investing hugely in hi-speed rail transit that connects a lot of the hi-growth centers because that's the only way to move people efficiently for CNY The central planners are obviously expecting more growth and migration from the countryside to these areas....these developments serve as a ready, make work solution for 10's of millions of people without access to the factory jobs that are predominant along the coast. They also serve as economic growth areas for factories that want to exploit cheaper labor in these new enterprise zones. The domestic market has been primed by export growth....I think there's a critical mass of economic/physical infrastructure in place to start meeting the consumer demands of China's growing middle-class who are demanding the same types of products that the Western World has been buying for decades. Turns out, Chinese are capitalists like the rest of us...who knew? Assuming we don't blow this world up in the meantime, it would be fascinating to revisit these cities in 10 years and see how much utilization there actually is. I won't be shocked if they are completely occupied. Reply

Jake on Dec 16, 3:33 PM said:

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Flag as Offensive @Innocent Bystander: Exactly. We don't build planned cities, and anyone that visits China will quickly see how much better the Chinese are at city planning. There are cities all over China that were built from scratch, just like the ones in this article. Just because people haven't moved in yet, doesn't mean they won't. And with 20 million Chinese people moving from rural to urban areas each year, it won't take long.

While our cities are a testament to poor city planning and urban decay, Chinese cities are a model of urban development...except for the pollution. Of course much of the pollution is a result of massive construction, and in just a few years, China passed up every country in the world to be the leader in green technology production. I really wish publication like Business Insider would stop spreading misinformation. The resulting warped perception is making Americans look like complete idiots. I'd be willing to bet that the author has never even visited China and is basing their opinion on anti-Chinese propaganda. Anyone that has visited China will tell you that the cities there are actually overcrowded. The propagandists at Business insider should be ashamed of this lame attempt. Reply

Innocent Bystander on Dec 16, 7:46 PM said: @Jake: Thanks for your comment and I agree with your points.

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Here's a factoid that puts China's growth in perspective. Brick production. Total bricks produced - 800 Billion. In 1994. I imagine that annual number is 3-4x that today. It amazes me to see mountains with literally 1/2 the aggregate missing. They got converted into buildings.... Reply

cdolist (URL) on Dec 16, 8:16 PM said: @Jake: hahahahaha

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do me a favor do a google image search for 'china pollution' thats their gleaming clean cities. none of the workers have money to move to these places, they are stuck in ipod city doing 80 hour weeks in dorms. we actually have plenty of planned communities in the US, they are built by oligarchies just like in china to make profits by selling bonds. wonder if the chinese securitized their bonds? it has nothing to do with dwellings for workers or any of that stuff. they stick the workers in hovels made with bad concrete and bad drywall and let them die of cancer. Reply

Jake on Dec 16, 4:19 PM said: Ordos City has a population of 1.5 million, and the museum the article says is completely empty was only recently completed, as was the city center itself.

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Austin Powers, International Man of Mystery on Dec 16, 5:47 PM said: The commenter who cited global warming may be onto something--regardless of the cause (and even if it is humans, I sure don't see the Chinese helping at the expense of their development) changes in the climate are underway. Looks to me like they've decided to adapt and prepare rather than gut their economy; these may well be 'ready built' new homes for those displaced from their coast!

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M. Simon (URL) on Dec 16, 8:47 PM said: @Austin Powers, International Man of Mystery: And if the world cools and the oceans fall? Waste.

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JC on Dec 16, 7:03 PM said: There's been a lot of comments about bubbles, etc. on why China's building so many houses. However, I don't see anyone asking what would all these workers be doing if they weren't building the houses...

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Mike H. on Dec 16, 8:30 PM said: Dreams Back to Ordos (Chen Yue Flute).

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Ferd on Dec 16, 8:36 PM said: Oh look! Jake is a sock puppet for Tom Friedman!

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I like how he skips around the reasons for urban decay in the US. Also, how he ignores areas that don't have this blight, and why. All in the name of supporting a system that is happy to make you do whatever at the point of a gun. We're not (quite) there yet, but the Chinese have been there for decades. I'd almost call Jake "Walter Duranty" but that would be maligning a known liar. Reply

Jake on Dec 16, 10:30 PM said:

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Flag as Offensive @Ferd: If any of the information I've provided is incorrect, please correct it. It is easy enough to verify that some of the cities this article calls ghost cities are in fact either still under construction or are simply not ghost cities at all. The lack of cars is not an indication of an empty city in a country where only about 3% of the population owns cars. As for skipping around the reasons for urban decay in the US, I just assumed that Americans are aware of it and have at least some understand as to the causes.

I encourage you to visit China. It will dispell many of the myths commonly held by Americans. Sure, the Chinese government is more authoritarian than the US, but it is also not nearly as bad as you seem to think. People in China are generally quite happy with the direction their country is headed. A Pew poll found that the Chinese government has an 85% approval rating, and the fact that an American company was allowed to conduct such a poll at all is rather remarkable. Reply

cdolist (URL) on Dec 19, 2:16 AM said: @Jake: the fact that a poll was allowed indicates its probably manipulated, fraudulent, etc.

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China just put a guy in prison for his website about tainted baby milk. his name is Zhao Lianhai. they harass his entire family. why? He is reporting on basic economic information, like that their version of the FDA is a joke, and the people harmed by the scandal are getting shafted. there's your transparency and openness in the 'new China'. more like the 'new America', where Upton Sinclair woulda been sent to federal prison to build chairs for UNICOR Reply

egoist on Dec 16, 9:21 PM said: Do the math. We owe China something like a trillion, and will try to default on it. The preferred scheme of our [current] masters seems to be inflating the fiat [further].

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China's congress is largely made up of engineers. America's is largely made up of lawyers. China has hell-hole villages full of millions of displeased peasants. America has mansions full of people in debt up to their nostrils, and a smug attitude about paying their own personal debt, let alone the national debt. The question oughtn't be limited to "who will live in those ghost cities?" It ought to include who will live in the slums? Reply

denk on Dec 16, 10:05 PM said: Ferd *I like how he skips around the reasons for urban decay in the US. Also, how he ignores areas that don't have this blight, and why. All in the name of supporting a system that is happy to make you do whatever at the point of a gun. * hey u're so cute kiddie

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whats that dude holding in his hand hehehe http://tinyurl.com/fqpck

*We're not (quite) there yet, but the Chinese have been there for decades.* not there yet, huh ? oh i see, those *eyerabs , chinks, gooks etc* dont count since they aint humans in your book u're talking about the good ole usa eh kid ? well in the land of *free* they dont need no guns for u, coz u're already so *sheepy* hehehe [kid, me english no good, is there such a word, sheepy ?] listen up kid, *Given enough time, there is nothing an American won't come to accept in the name of "security". * http://tinyurl.com/3a6yebe http://tinyurl.com/35uyt5z http://tinyurl.com/2cn4427 http://tinyurl.com/mumupz like the man says, they dont need no guns on the sheeples hehehe Reply

santamony (URL) on Dec 17, 5:21 AM said: The photos look interesting but the 64m empty units are defenitely a nonsense. Total number of residential units built between 1995 and 2009 were slightly larger than 50m...FYI I am a Chinese.

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Nina on Dec 17, 6:08 AM said: I would like to know, when will the real estate market crashed in metropolis e.g. beijing & shanghai.

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Never! Reply

bob1 on Dec 17, 10:08 AM said:

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You clearly have not studied Egyptian history. To the Egyptians to maintain the status quo was what was desired, change was not welcomed. Ever wonder why Egyptian statues are exact replicas of each other going back eons? It's because the Egyptians didn't want change - to create art was to recreate what was done before exactly, no deviations because the gods had smiled on Egypt before so by keeping things exactly the same the gods would favor them again. This is also why the Egyptian empire never expanded to conquer other countries. The Pyramids were built mostly by people who were paid to do so - this provided employment for the masses. Pharaohs were more than rulers in Egypt, they were seen by the inhabitants as being placed there by the gods and therefore building monuments to them was seen as being appreciative of the ruler who the gods had placed over you. Incredible how people try and fit the practices of the ancients into modern day thinking lol Reply

SK on Dec 17, 11:58 AM said: maybe, they are trying to emulate vegas :) (am serious)

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johnathan Milner on Dec 17, 2:15 PM said: If the US or Europe were to have a war with China and bombed all their population centers or destroyed the infrastructure - they have lots of empties to rely on. When the ChicComs decide enough capitalism for them they have housing to use. He we just bulldoze em, new or not.

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Some of the pictures have people in the back ground - they could have easily taken these pics during some holiday the car market is still growing - I you have a new house in China you probably still have a bike not a car yet. Reply

blueboy on Dec 17, 3:07 PM said: I need to ignore Gus Lubin. He always show the dumbest thing and consider it as facts. He also seems to have some kind of obsession with china.

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Haha haha on Dec 19, 10:03 PM said:

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@blueboy: You do want you want This article is getting 100,000 hits a day. Reply

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