Chinese Ghost Cities

About Chinese Ghost Cities

During Chinas property boom, developers built entire cities that sat empty. Ordos in Inner Mongolia was the most famous, with apartments for a million people and almost no residents. The ghost cities were funded by local governments relying on land sales for revenue. Chinas property sector grew to 30 percent of GDP. Estimates suggested 65 million empty apartments across China. The construction boom drove demand for steel, copper, and cement globally. After 2021, as developers like Evergrande defaulted, the ghost city problem became a crisis. The oversupply of housing will take years to absorb. The ghost cities symbolize the wasteful investment driven model of Chinese growth.