Ghost Cities of China

Photo: Michael Christopher Brown/TIME Magazine

If you build it, they will come - or so the famous saying goes ... but what if you build it in the middle of nowhere, Inner Mongolia? Michael Christopher Brown visited the famous ghost city of Ordos, Inner Mongolia for TIME Magazine:

The Kangbashi district began as a public-works project in Ordos, a wealthy coal-mining town in Inner Mongolia. The area is filled with office towers, administrative centers, government buildings, museums, theaters and sports fields—not to mention acre on acre of subdivisions overflowing with middle-class duplexes and bungalows. The only problem: the district was originally designed to house, support and entertain 1 million people, yet hardly anyone lives there.

Link

Similarly, Business Insider has the satellite photos of Ordos and other ghost cities of China:

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

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Granted Inner Mongolia is one of the least populated area in China where sheep outnumber human, Ordos is not a ghost town.

Check out the photos for Ordos(????) and the new Kangbashi district(???) on image dot Baidu dot com, see if there are people or not.

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Thomas - I'm afraid your discussion might be a bit backward. You're suggesting that there is too much supply in some cities because flats aren't as expensive as London (one of the most expensive cities in the world to live in). The real issue is the supply in London and limiting construction elsewhere isn't likely to force additional construction in London.

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Anyone else thinking Ireland property boom and bust? I head people are fearing a similar problem, though China has a much higher saving rate than most Western countries.

The problem is that property developers often develop before there is a need, and often in places where there is no need for new development.

In the UK there are too many centre of city flats in big northern cities, particularly Leeds, Liverpool, and Glasgow.

I have a friend in Glasgow staying in a very attractive converted warehouse, with all mod-cons for £100 a week. Down in London it'll go for over £1500 (maybe £2500 a week). It's all down to demand and supply!

In Liverpool and Leeds there are more flats than people want to live in. Generally, British people much prefer houses to flats.

As well as too many flats, there are too many property developers!