A Post-Apocalyptic World Maybe, But It’s Actually A Deserted Town In China
May 13th, 2015
China may have the world’s fastest growing economy, but that doesn’t mean that it doesn’t suffer the effects of economic downturns. 2007-8 were particularly rough years for the Chinese economy.Prior to the economic crash, one of China’s fastest growing industries was construction, particularly in housing. Billions of dollars were poured into this sector with the hope of creating thriving metropolises all over the country.
Unfortunately, the crash hit many cities very hard. All across the country there are full constructed cities with pristine buildings, all abandoned. One of the more famous “modern ghost towns” is the city of Kangbashi in northern China, near the Mongolian border.
Welcome to Kangbashi:
Throughout Kangbashi, there are rows upon rows of modern apartment buildings and condos that are all completely empty.
Kangbashi had been intended to be a bustling mega city.
Officials planned for Kangbashi to house up to 1,000,000 people.
However, current estimates put the population at less than 10 percent of that, between 20,000 and 30,000.
There are no congested traffic lanes in this city.
Life in Kangbashi is quiet and unusual in many ways.
For example, thanks to the government, the few restaurants in Kangbashi pay no rent. This is so city workers have somewhere to eat.
Despite all of the setbacks that the city has faced, construction on the city of Kangbashi still continues.
Not far from Kangbashi is another ghost city, with a financial district designed to look exactly like the financial district in New York City.
The Yujiapu Financial District in Tianjin Binhai looks like a post-apocalyptic Manhattan.
Construction on this pseudo-Manhattan was completely abandoned after the financial crash, when many of the project’s investors backed out.
