All across China, vast cities of silent high-rises stretch across the horizon – empty, unfinished, and uninhabited. These so-called “ghost cities” are haunting reminders of the country’s breakneck economic rise over the last 30 years – and the bumpy landing that followed.
No country has ever built so much so quickly and it means ghost cities – also known as metropolises that have yet to come to life – lie in every corner of China. Dozens of skyscrapers pop up overnight and chilling pictures show the vacant – and sometimes half-finished structures – which have been deserted by developers. Rows of post-apocalyptic housing estates tower over visitors – and impressive attractions and shopping malls gather dust without any residents or tourists stepping foot inside.
Meanwhile, Estimates of the homeless population in China vary wildly, ranging from official figures of around 2 million to broader, analyst-driven estimates exceeding 24 million as of mid-2025 due to youth job crises and economic pressures. Some researchers even consider up to 300 million people, including rural migrant workers with precarious housing, to be vulnerable.
Key Aspects of homelessness in China include surging Numbers: Recent data suggests a massive surge in homelessness due to worsening employment prospects and high living costs, with some reports citing up to 24.1 million homeless by May 2025.
And them there are the Invisible Homelessness: The "visible" homeless population on streets is often strictly managed, relocated, or returned to their hometowns by authorities, making the problem less visible in major cities.
I've been reading for several years that the collapse of China is inevitable. But they keep building up their military and spreading communism across the world.
ReplyDeleteAnd don't forget, buying elections and paying for protests.
DeleteDon't worry. Mamdani's version of communism is MUCH better!
ReplyDeleteYou think they might finally have the right people in charge?
DeleteOne of the few things the average person is allowed to invest in is housing. People could either put their money in a state run bank or buy a second (or third) apartment. This also makes the housing collapse all the more tragic in that people are losing their life savings.
ReplyDeleteChina's doomed to collapse anyway because of their inverted demographics. Peter Zeihan has some pretty good YouTube videos on China's demographics combined with over counting the population. Also consider that 70% of Venezuela's oil and 90% of Iran's was going to China. Xi wants their military to be ready to retake Taiwan by 2027. The opening salvo in that fight may have been Venezuela.