Cows graze: what a “ghost town” looks like in China with mansions for rich people

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Almost 230 million dollars were invested in the construction of the quarter for the elite. Now cattle are walking around the abandoned houses and the land is being plowed.

The Greenland Group started the project in 2010 at the height of the real estate boom, when developers went into debt to build housing before there was demand for it.

There is great faith among Chinese developers and buyers that the value of real estate will steadily increase, and prices will not fall, – Chinese urbanization expert Max Woodworth previously stated.

And almost 230 million dollars were invested in this facility alone. However, the company is now one of more than 50 housing developers to file for bankruptcy.

Greenland had only sold 5% of the homes in its State Guest Mansions project in Shenyang by the time it was completed. In 2023, Greenland Group defaulted on more than $400 million in international bonds, but no official explanation was given for the sudden halt in construction.

France24 reports that locals suspect the project was stalled due to corruption among officials. Since coming to power in 2012, Chinese President Xi Jinping has launched a major crackdown on corruption in the ruling Communist Party and has helped to create a public disapproval of ostentatious wealth.

These houses could sell for millions, locals say, but they weren't built for ordinary people, so they weren't bought.

According to China's Ministry of Agriculture, 1.4 billion people in China every day eat about 700 thousand tons of grain, 1.92 million tons of vegetables and 230 thousand tons of meat.

The need to feed such a large population means that the abandoned lands that have turned into “ghost towns” can be put to much better use. This is especially true after the country gave up a large part of its undeveloped land for other projects. During ten years of rapid industrialization, China donated so much agricultural land that its area can be compared with the area of ​​Odesa, Dnipropetrovsk and Lviv regions of Ukraine combined.

Because crystal chandeliers, large stone columns and majestic spiral staircases appeared no one needs them, local farmers moved their cattle here. Now only goats and cows roam the unfinished European-style villas, representing a strange combination of extreme urbanization and nature.

According to estimates, China currently has about 65 million residential premises that no one needs.