Construction in China continues to boom at a rapid pace, even without 3D printers that can print a skyscraper in just 19 days.
Developers and local governments in China are known for building master planned developments from scratch, but as Forbes contributor Kenneth Rapoza points out, many of them today are still ghost towns.
“From shopping malls to soccer stadiums, hundreds of new cities in China are largely empty. And yet more cities are still being built deep in the heart of the country,” Rapoza writes.
The city of Ordos, in China’s province of Inner Mongolia, is an example of such city. It made headlines in Western media after journalist Wade Shepard featured the city in his book, “Ghost Cities of China.”
Time magazine published a web slideshow of Kangbashi District in Ordos, with photography by Michael Christopher Brown. It shows swaths of subdivisions, mid-rise apartments, and commercial complexes built to entertain and accommodate a population the size of San Diego, but remains nearly empty.
Yet under-occupancy doesn’t seem to deter development. Last week, renderings started to circulate online of a walkable, terrace-shaped exhibition hall that Chinese practice Kuanlu Architects designed for Otog, also in Ordos.
“China’s continued urbanization push can be viewed as a full-on effort to develop an insulated economy that’s based on domestic production delivering goods and services to domestic consumers,” Rapoza writes, adding that it is a result of economic crises in the U.S. and E.U. taking a toll on China’s economy.
Related Stories
Multifamily Housing | Feb 24, 2022
First new, mixed-use high-rise in Detroit’s central business district in nearly 30 years opens
City Club Apartments completed two multifamily projects in 2021 in downtown Detroit including the first new, mixed-use high-rise in Detroit’s central business district in nearly 30 years.
Office Buildings | Feb 23, 2022
The Beam on Farmer, Arizona’s first mass timber, multi-story office building tops out
The Beam on Farmer, Arizona’s first mass timber, multi-story office building, topped out on Feb. 10, 2022.
Mixed-Use | Feb 9, 2022
David Chipperfield Architects to design Schützenstraße mixed-use development in Munich
The firm recently won a competition for the project.
Mixed-Use | Jan 13, 2022
Details unveiled for Atlanta’s Campus 244 mixed-use development
S9 Architecture is designing the project.
Mixed-Use | Jan 10, 2022
Mixed-use Arsenal Yards completes in Watertown’s East End
PCA master-planned the seven-building, one million sf destination and designed the urban village, residences, and open spaces.
Mixed-Use | Jan 5, 2022
Waterfront Station II breaks ground in Washington, D.C.
The mixed-use project will include 30% affordable housing.
Mixed-Use | Dec 21, 2021
Riverside Wharf will be Miami’s newest entertainment complex
Cube3 Architects is designing the project.
Mixed-Use | Nov 11, 2021
New mixed-use development breaks ground in Miami Beach
Domo Studio is designing the project and Origin Construction is the general contractor.
Mixed-Use | Oct 22, 2021
40 West 12th residential tower opens in Atlanta’s Midtown neighborhood
The project is part of the 1105 West Peachtree Development.
Multifamily Housing | Oct 20, 2021
Sacramento’s first luxury high-rise rental residences announced
Southern Land Company is developing the project.