The Mystery of China's "Ghost Cities" -- Solved at Last? (And coming to a place near you, too?)

reply to post by deadbang


Construction is the solution to China's twin problems - excess labor and excess savings.

China needs new cities far away from existing ones as China has overcrowded cities/regions.

China will also need places to relocate population in case war breaks out.

It seems logical to me.

Originally posted by GargIndia
reply to post by deadbang

 

Construction is the solution to China's twin problems - excess labor and excess savings.

China needs new cities far away from existing ones as China has overcrowded cities/regions.

China will also need places to relocate population in case war breaks out.

It seems logical to me.

yes, but that's the thing, they're NOT to alleviate congestion in existing cities....nobody lives in them.

Maybe the cities are to consolidate people. Make a big people clump to nuke.

What if Earth is attracting off-world illegals?

Alien eradication would seem to be the solution.

reply to post by Daedalus


It is because people who bought property have not yet moved.

People are fearful of new places. They are not sure if they can preserve their livelyhood there.

You may find it funny but I have seen news towns in India with very little occupancy rates.

It takes a lot of time (10-15 years) for a new town to start settling down.

Chinese build very fast. This is why these empty cities are so visible.

Originally posted by marhaba


The primary reason for all the other ghost cities is actually greed.

This is what it comes down to really.
Deep in debt
“The rich people are getting richer, the poor are worse off and the difference between us is growing,” said Pingchuan Mayor Yang.
But so far, in many places, the plan has only put farmers in debt to banks for the first time in their lives.
Greed!

The Billionaire Chinese Investors would stand to loose a lot if they lowered the prices enough for the average Chinese to afford it.

They could increase the wages of the average Chinese in those slave labor factories so that they could afford it, but then the factory owners would loose out, and the millions of companies in America that require that cheap labor would loose out as well.

Wall Street would loose out as well since that would be less money going to them.

Fortunately, the bubble can only go on so long until it bursts in China and it will have reciprocal effects here as well.

reply to post by jacobe001


Very good point. This is also a reason for vacant homes. High prices and high rents make homes un-affordable to the actual buyers.

However in this case the situation is a bit different as cities are far off from existing population centers. So price cannot be the dominant reason.

Originally posted by GargIndia
reply to post by Daedalus

 

It is because people who bought property have not yet moved.

People are fearful of new places. They are not sure if they can preserve their livelyhood there.

You may find it funny but I have seen news towns in India with very little occupancy rates.

It takes a lot of time (10-15 years) for a new town to start settling down.

Chinese build very fast. This is why these empty cities are so visible.

you obviously didn't check out the video i posted...

they're being built to prop up the economy....they're building to build.

nobody lives there because nobody can afford to.

they build cities that don't need to exist, and then make them too expensive for regular people to live in, so they are a complete and utter waste.

it has nothing to do with people being scared of change..

reply to post by Daedalus


The builders always price the property high in the hope that people will pay.

The easy availability of loans for property development skews the market.

The new government in China is trying to reduce property speculation. So hopefully these empty cities will fill up now.

Originally posted by GargIndia
reply to post by Daedalus

 

The builders always price the property high in the hope that people will pay.

The easy availability of loans for property development skews the market.

The new government in China is trying to reduce property speculation. So hopefully these empty cities will fill up now.

one can only hope, but i seriously doubt anything will change.

unless they make the residential units affordable for regular chinese, it's just not going to happen....and because the building projects cost so much, and the property owners would stand to lose so much by making it affordable to regular chinese, and because people are in business to MAKE money, not LOSE it, they won't do that.....

so in short, nothing will change, the cities will never fill up, and it will remain a complete waste...

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