Cows in the middle of an unfinished construction site of luxury villas in the suburb of Shenyang on March 31, 2023 in northeast China (AFP/Jade GAO)
Verandas are crumbling, wild grass grows between the concrete slabs and, where a luxurious villa should in principle be built, cows roam: in northeast China, the real estate crisis is glaring.
The site, led by the promoter Greenland Group, started in 2010, on the hills of the industrial city of Shenyang (9 million inhabitants), in the midst of the Chinese real estate boom.
But two years later, the project, dubbed State Guest Mansions, comprising 260 European-style villas and luxurious facilities for distinguished visitors from the provincial government, was abandoned.
From now on, the campaign has resumed its rights.
Plowed land in the middle of an unfinished construction site of luxury villas in the suburb of Shenyang on March 31, 2023 in northeast China (AFP/Jade GAO)
Farmers plow the land where stylized gardens were planned for wealthy and politically connected patrons. Stray dogs hang around makeshift chicken coops.
And in what must have been two-car garages, hay bales and farm equipment are stored.
No official reason for stopping the work has been given, but local residents think they can guess it.
– “Corruption” –
“In truth, it is because of the corruption of the authorities,” says a farmer who gives only his last name, Guo, digging the earth under a 10-meter-high metal wall, which was to isolate the future housing estate from noise from the nearby highway.
Aerial view of an unfinished construction site of luxury villas in the suburbs of Shenyang on March 31, 2023 in northwest China (AFP/Jade GAO)
“They stopped paying (…) so the construction site was stopped halfway”, explains the 45-year-old man, while around him other people carry buckets filled with water, drawn from the artificial lake of the complex.
Contacted by telephone, a representative of the promoter involved ensures that he sends his superior a request for comment for AFP. But the company did not respond.
Since coming to power in 2012, Chinese President Xi Jinping has waged a fierce campaign against corruption within the ruling Communist Party and the accumulation of ostentatious wealth.
An abandoned luxury villa on an unfinished construction site in the suburbs of Shenyang on March 31, 2023 in northeast China (AFP/Jade GAO)
“These (houses) would have sold for millions, but the rich didn’t buy a single one,” sighs Mr. Guo.
“They weren’t built for ordinary people.”
– Ghost towns –
In the world’s second largest economy, the real estate sector continued to experience its best years until the end of the 2010s.
The interior of an abandoned luxury villa on an unfinished construction site in the suburbs of Shenyang on March 31, 2023 in northeast China (AFP/Jade GAO)
But in 2020, the government put an abrupt halt to this by restricting developers’ access to credit: many of them then found themselves with colossal debt while demand was at half mast.
Ghost towns, like the housing estate under construction near Shenyang, have become part of the landscape in China.
Difficult to know their number, in the absence of official statistics on the subject.
A report by a research group affiliated with an official association in Shanghai estimated that as of June 2022, nearly 4 percent of housing projects in the country had been abandoned along the way, an area of 231 million square meters.
The interior of an abandoned luxury villa on an unfinished construction site in the suburbs of Shenyang on March 31, 2023 in northeast China (AFP/Jade GAO)
With their unfinished walls and surreal appearance, these ghost towns are attracting a new generation of urban explorers, who are sharing their images of these special places on social media.
Inside the former sales office of the State Guest Mansions complex, graffiti has appeared on the walls, suggesting that farmers are not the only visitors to the premises.
“The place is great to explore, so I love walking around here… and filming some videos”, says a man, who came with his drone, and who does not wish to give his name.
A mock-up of a luxury villa estate at a derelict sales office in the suburbs of Shenyang on March 31, 2023 in northeast China (AFP/Jade GAO)
As he rests on the marble floor, above him hangs a dusty chandelier.
A little further, furniture imitating the Louis XIV style is stacked in dark rooms.
“Here, everything has been abandoned, it’s dismal,” admits the extravagant onlooker.
© 2023 AFP
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