Ghost Cities of China: The Story of Cities without People in the World's Most Populated Country (Asian Arguments)

Over the next couple of decades, it is estimated that 250 million Chinese citizens will move from rural areas into cities, pushing the country’s urban population over one billion. China has built hundreds of new cities and urban districts over the past thirty years, and hundreds more are set to be built by 2030 as the central government kicks its urbanization initiative into overdrive. As China redraws its map with new cities, it isn't just creating new urban areas, but also engineering a new culture and way of life. Yet, many of these new cities, such as the infamous Kangbashi and Yujiapu, stand nearly empty, construction having ground to a halt due to the loss of investors and colossal debt. In __Ghost Cities of China__, Wade Shepard examines this phenomenon up close. He posits that the shedding of traditional social structures in the country is at an advanced stage, and a rootless, consumption-centric globalized culture is rapidly taking its place. Incorporating interviews and on-the-ground investigation, __Ghost Cities of China__ examines China’s under-populated modern cities and the country’s overly ambitious building program. Front Cover 1 Asian Arguments 2 About the Author 3 Title 4 Copyright 5 Contents 6 Acknowledgements 7 Preface 10 Map of China 14 One: The New Map of China 16 The Ghost City Critique 18 Building a New World Within the Four Seas 19 Two: Clearing the Land 24 Who Owns the Land? 27 Building a New Country, Literally 29 Out with the Old, in with the New; Out with the New, in with the Newer 32 Clearing the Land 38 Land Sales 47 Manufacturing Land 49 Three: Of New Cities and Ghost Cities 54 What is a Ghost City? 54 What is a Chinese City? 55 The Political Structure of Chinese Municipalities 58 Types of New Chinese Urban Development 59 Building New Cities 61 Of New Cities 63 Of Ghost Cities 66 Why So Many Empty Apartments? 70 Residents-in-waiting 71 Economics on the Frontier 77 Four: When Construction Ends the Building Begins 81 Breaking the Inertia 89 The Troops of Urbanization 89 Grinding the Gears of Speculation 93 Sustained Government Involvement 96 The Metro Means Everything 98 The Future of Ghost Cities 100 Five: Megacities Inside Megacities 102 What Megacities Look Like 103 The New Shanghai Master Plan 106 China’s German Ghost City 110 Shanghai’s Dutch Ghost Town 115 Thames Town 117 The Future of Shanghai’s New Towns 120 What Mega-Regions Look Like 125 Six: A New City, a New Identity 131 The Current Model of Urbanization is Unsustainable 134 The Planned City 137 The Cities of the Future 140 Ecocities 141 Tianfu Ecocity 144 Sino-Singapore Tianjin Ecocity 145 The Ecocity Gimmick? 147 Central Business Districts – Everywhere 149 Industrially Themed Cities 155 Duplitecture and the Search for Identity 162 Conclusion 170 Seven: Powering the New China 172 Coal 173 Hydropower 176 Other Renewable Energy Sources 183 The Law of Diminishing Returns 184 Eight: The Unsinkable Ship 186 The Housing Bubble 187 The New Chinese Currency 192 Affording Expensive Homes – House Slaves and the Moonlight Clan 193 Controlling the Fire 200 Too Big to Fail 204 Nine: What Ghost Cities Become 212 How Long Does it Take to Build and Populate a City? 213 Bibliography 221 Index 227 Back Cover 234 Over the next couple of decades, it is estimated that 250 million Chinese citizens will move from rural areas into cities, pushing the country's urban population over one billion. China has built hundreds of new cities and urban districts over the past thirty years, and hundreds more are set to be built by 2030 as the central government kicks its urbanization initiative into overdrive. As China redraws its map with new cities, it isn't just creating new urban areas, but also engineering a new culture and way of life. Yet, many of these new cities, such as the infamous Kangbashi and Yujiapu, stand nearly empty, construction having ground to a halt due to the loss of investors and colossal debt. In Ghost Cities of China, Wade Shepard examines this phenomenon up close. He posits that the shedding of traditional social structures in the country is at an advanced stage, and a rootless, consumption-centric globalized culture is rapidly taking its place. Incorporating interviews and on-the-ground investigation, Ghost Cities of China examines China's under-populated modern cities and the country's overly ambitious building program. / Produktinformation Annotation Over the next couple of decades, it is estimated that 250 million Chinese citizens will move from rural areas into cities, pushing the countrys urban population over one billion. China has built hundreds of new cities and urban districts over the past thirty years, and hundreds more are set to be built by 2030 as the central government kicks its urbanization initiative into overdrive. As China redraws its map with new cities, it isn't just creating new urban areas, but also engineering a new culture and way of life. Yet, many of these new cities, such as the infamous Kangbashi andYujiapu, stand nearly empty, construction having ground to a halt due to the loss of investors and colossal debt. In Ghost Cities of China, Wade Shepard examines this phenomenon up close. He posits that the shedding of traditional social structures in the country is at an advanced stage, and a rootless, consumption-centric globalized culture is rapidly taking its place. Incorporating interviews and on-the-ground investigation, Ghost Cities of China examines Chinas under-populated modern cities and the countrys overly ambitious building program Featuring Everything From Sports Stadiums To Shopping Malls, Hundreds Of New Cities In China Stand Empty, With Hundreds More Set To Be Built By 2030. Between Now And Then, The Country's Urban Population Will Leap To Over One Billion, As The Central Government Kicks Its Urbanization Initiative Into Overdrive. In The Process, Traditional Social Structures Are Being Torn Apart, And A Rootless, Semi-displaced, Consumption Orientated Culture Rapidly Taking Their Place. Ghost Cities Of China Is An Enthralling Dialogue Driven, On-location Search For An Understanding Of China's New Cities And The Reasons Why Many Currently Stand Empty. From Publisher's Website The New Map Of China -- Clearing The Land -- Of New Cities And Ghost Cities -- When Construction Ends The Building Begins -- Megacities Inside Megacities -- A New City, A New Identity -- Powering The New China -- The Unsinkable Ship -- What Ghost Cities Become Wade Shepard. Includes Bibliographical References (pages 206-211) And Index. "Featuring everything from sports stadiums to shopping malls, hundreds of new urban areas in China stand empty, with hundreds more set to be completed by 2030. Between now and then, the country's urban population will leap to over one billion, as the central government kicks its urbanization initiative into overdrive. In the process, traditional social structures are being torn apart, and a rootless, semi-displaced, consumption-orientated culture is rapidly taking their place. Ghost Cities of China is an enthralling dialogue-driven, on-location search for an understanding of China's new cities and the reasons why many have not yet attracted sizable populations."--Page 4 of cover