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Location: The western periphery of Terra Australis
24,544 posts, read 56,060,466 times
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I've heard stories like this and witnessed it for myself. In 2006 I visited the 'Golden Resources Mall' outside Beijing at the time the biggest in the world (it seems that title has switched hands many times since) and it was eerily empty.
Why not just give away the apartment blocks to poor peasants?
I've seen this in Kunming, They ( the Chinese ) were calling it " New Kunming " it's south of the "Old" Kunming and is some where around 40 or 50 apartment buildings ( all new ) standing empty, gave me the willy's
I've heard stories like this and witnessed it for myself. In 2006 I visited the 'Golden Resources Mall' outside Beijing at the time the biggest in the world (it seems that title has switched hands many times since) and it was eerily empty.
Why not just give away the apartment blocks to poor peasants?
Same thing with the South China Mall in Dongguan. It was considered to be the largest mall in the world, but has failed to attract business, shoppers and tourists. About 1% of the business space is occupied. A few stores opened for business, but have since closed. It seems that a few small shops remain, but business is extremely poor. The only people who go to the mall, other than mall employees, are mostly locals drawn to the amusement park rides. The biggest downfall is that there are no airports and no highways nearby. In addition, it's located outside of the city making it inconvenient to shop for most of the locals.
Originally, the land the mall sits on was farmland. From what I can dig up about it, it was built because of China's construction boom with the idea that it would be a huge success. As stunning as it is, it's pretty evident that it was poorly planned from the start in terms of location.
Corruption mixed with a heavily state influenced capitalist economy, where those in power want continual GDP growth by any means possible, results in this madness. Seems like a complete waste to me, especially when they won't allow the millions who need/want better housing in because they're not among the elite super wealthy in China. I found it funny that a country that still claims to be Communist acts and appears more old school capitalist in terms of economic inequality, where the very few rich have everything and everyone else struggles to survive, than their neighbors in Korea and Japan. Surprised there hasn't been a coup within their party, though I imagine all those who make it to government are so greatly corrupted at this point, they just go along with the ride.
Another look at ghost cities in China. An apartment for about $70,000 to $100,000 and a national average annual wage is about $6,000? A duplex for $300,000, 50% down on the asking price, and the balance to be paid in 3 years? There are people (wealthy) who can afford such prices, but they are very few in comparison to the general population. Many places like this remain largely unoccupied and empty.
Chinese leaders, business insiders, and politicians at every level knows that China's economy needs restructuring. That's a fact that nobody disputes. But why try to change the system when you are getting fat off the profits? That's the central conundrum of what's going on in China right now.
Corruption mixed with a heavily state influenced capitalist economy, where those in power want continual GDP growth by any means possible, results in this madness. Seems like a complete waste to me, especially when they won't allow the millions who need/want better housing in because they're not among the elite super wealthy in China. I found it funny that a country that still claims to be Communist acts and appears more old school capitalist in terms of economic inequality, where the very few rich have everything and everyone else struggles to survive, than their neighbors in Korea and Japan. Surprised there hasn't been a coup within their party, though I imagine all those who make it to government are so greatly corrupted at this point, they just go along with the ride.
I believe it's only a matter of time there will either be a coup or the Chinese communist party will be broken up into smaller pieces. If the true communist wing of the broken communist party gets the upper hand, those empty buildings will be filled with at least the educated class (poor/working/middle classes of society).
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