Virgin urban construction land in China is like a carcass in a pit of hyenas. The feeding frenzy to gobble up and lay claim to as much develop-able … [Read more...]
Fengcheng: Shanghai’s Quixotic Spanish Town
There was something Quixotic about that place, which was perhaps appropriate as I was standing before a row of giant, mock windmills. They used to … [Read more...]
Nanhui, China’s Unbelievable Ghost City on the Coast
The first thing that many visitors to Shanghai will see is a ghost city. If you look down out of the window when flying into Shanghai's Pudong airport … [Read more...]
Look Inside China’s Medical City
China Medical City (CMC) is a place whose name is in no way a misnomer. In 2005, a 30 square kilometer area north just of the Yangtze River between … [Read more...]
The Myth of China’s Big and Crowded Cities
I looked out over a flat, wide-open landscape of farmland, fallow fields, and dirt lots stretching far into the distance. A small brick shack was to … [Read more...]
Can Chinese Shopping Malls Become Centers of Culture?
Imagine if you didn't just go to the mall to shop. Imagine if shopping malls were places full of museum-like exhibits, performances, cultural shows, … [Read more...]
How A 4.5 Million Person City Was Named A Ghost Town
Changzhou has recently been named one of 12 ghost cities in China by the China Youth Daily, which is a rather unbecoming label for a city that has a … [Read more...]
A Journey To China’s Italian Ghost Town
I walked clear through Shanghai's Italian town without knowing it. I'm not sure what I was expecting, but the overtly institutional, strictly … [Read more...]
A Look at the Largest Human Migration in History: Ecological Migrants in Guizhou, China
They call them ecological migrants. They are 2 million villagers from Guizhou province whose mountainous environs have been deemed unsuitable for … [Read more...]
Shanghai’s Dutch Ghost Town
"Here used to be original Asian city with lots of original style buildings. Now it has been developed and all of that is now gone. It is a pity," a … [Read more...]
