WHY are so many virtually uninhabited cities still being built in China?
On last night's Dateline on SBS ONE, Asia correspondent Adrian Brown returned to update one of the program's most watched stories. Here he reveals the rather mixed response to the media attention:
China, frankly, has grown weary of endless reports about its severely under populated cities. That's why the provincial government of Inner Mongolia refused to issue me with an invitation letter. Maybe they'd seen my earlier Dateline report on China's Ghost Cities.
Anyway, the coaxing and cajoling failed, and no letter was forthcoming. So in the end I had to visit Ordos unofficially … it's reputedly the biggest ghost city of them all.
Arriving, I was struck by the similarity with North Korea's capital, Pyongyang. Wide, empty boulevards. Grandiose architecture with confused themes. And an eerie shortage of people. On the smooth, straight highway into the city we saw only two other vehicles. And yet this was 8.30am … rush hour in most cities.
My tour guide took me to the central plaza, which is more than two and a half kilometres long and about 200m across. And all this for a city with a population of just 140,000!
Ordos is one of China's most impressive ghost cities. Picture: Dateline SBS
At times you have to pinch yourself and say, 'Yes, it's real'. Our cover was blown within a few hours of arriving though. My guide was suspicious of my endless questions about why the place was so empty. Eventually her boss turned up, along with an official from the Public Security Bureau.
After checking my passport, their suspicions were confirmed … no journalist visa. Strangely I was told that while this meant I did not have permission to talk to anyone, I could continue filming.
The roads are eerily empty. Picture: Dateline SBS
Property bubble?
On the outskirts of Ordos lies the new city of Kangbashi, built to accommodate a million people. And while many of its properties have been sold, the city is still largely empty. Most of these homes were bought for investment during a mining boom that's now well and truly over.
A decade ago this part of Inner Mongolia was one of the richest areas in China, says urbanisation expert Tom Miller.
"China is a very, very large country and it doesn't make sense to talk about a single bubble," he explains.
"Imagine China as bubble wrap. Some of those bubbles within it might burst. Ordos is one example. The bubble did burst there a couple of years ago."
But perhaps there is method in this construction madness. China says it needs to move more than 400 million people from the countryside into the cities in the next 10 years. No country in the world is witnessing urbanisation of this size. It's a social experiment on a grand scale.
Eventually, it was clear I had overstayed my welcome and was told I would be driven to the airport … just four hours after arriving. I was being politely deported from China's biggest ghost city. I joked to my guide, "but don't you need people."
"Yes, but not like you," she replied sharply.为什么有这么多几乎无人居住的城市仍在建在中国？
楼市泡沫？
在鄂尔多斯市的郊区，位于康巴什新城区，兴建了可容纳万人。而许多物业已售出，全市在很大程度上仍然是空的。这些家庭大多是买投资在采矿热潮，现在很好，真正结束。
内蒙古十年前，这部分是在中国最富有的地区之一，城市化专家汤姆·米勒说。
“中国是一个非常，非常大的国家，它没有任何意义谈论单个气泡，”他解释说。
“想象一下，中国的泡沫包装。这些气泡内它可能爆裂。鄂尔多斯就是一个例子。泡沫没有破灭有一对夫妇几年前。”
但也许是在这个建筑的疯狂的方法。中国表示，它需要将400多万人口从农村到城市在未来10年。在世界上没有任何一个国家看到这种规模的城市化。这是一个规模宏大的社会实验。
最终，它很清楚，我已经逾期居留，我的欢迎，被告知我会被驱赶到机场只有四个小时后抵达。我被礼貌地驱逐出中国最大的鬼城。我开玩笑说我的向导，但没有你需要的人。“
“是的，但不喜欢你，”她尖刻地回答。
A big city, with hardly a soul in sight. Picture: Dateline SBS
700 mountains levelled
More than 700km to the south, the welcome could not have been more different. The officials behind Lanzhou New Area, a new city being carved out of the mountains of Gansu Province, seemed overjoyed to receive us.
I was encouraged to pose for pictures with the deputy mayor and other senior local party members. I was also invited to give my views on China's newest city to the local media … less than two hours after arriving in Lanzhou.
In this lunar landscape they are levelling 700 mountains to build a 130,000ha metropolis from scratch. Up to a million people will eventually move in.
The new city's Deputy Mayor, Guo Zhiqiang, told me the city will not repeat the mistakes of Ordos.
"Lanzhou New Area will definitely not become an empty city, or a ghost city. Essentially, it will be a fantastic, fully equipped city. It will be a beautiful city. It can lift the residents' standard of living," he told me.
Homes in the sky
On the outskirts, I met some of the rural migrants from the city's sprawling hinterland, who are waiting to move into their new homes "in the sky."
They are farmers, mostly and have had no say in their relocation. But with government minders in ear shot, they all tell me in unison that they are glad to be moving. The process of demolishing their homes has already begun.
And it's a process taking place across the country as millions more prepare to make the move to the city.
For the full story, read more now on the Dateline website .700山夷为平地
超过700公里以南，不能一直在欢迎更多的不同。背后的官员，兰州新区，一个新的城市被瓜分甘肃省的山区，似乎收到我们喜出望外。
我感到鼓舞的副市长及其他高级地方党员的照片构成。我也被邀请到中国最年轻的城市，向当地媒体给我的意见......不到两个小时后抵达兰州。
在这个月球景观，他们练级700山上从头开始建立一个130,000公顷的大都市。多达一百万的人最终会搬进去。
新密市副市长，郭志强，告诉我，这个城市将不再重蹈覆辙鄂尔多斯。
“兰州新区将绝对不会成为一座空城，还是鬼的城市，从本质上讲，这将是一个梦幻般的，设备齐全的城市，这将是一个美丽的城市，它可以解除居民的生活水平，”他告诉我。
天空中的家园
在郊区，我遇到了一些农村移民城市的广阔腹地，等待搬进他们的新家园“在天空中。”
他们大多是农民，有没有说在他们搬迁。但随着政府在耳拍摄的看管，他们都告诉我，他们是齐声高兴移动。拆除他们的家园的过程已经开始了。
它是一个过程，发生在全国各地数以百万计的准备搬到城里。
完整的故事，现在更多的日界线网站上。
Lanzhou New Area was more welcoming. Picture: Dateline SBS
No crowds here. Picture: Dateline SBS
Tower ride and fountain area at New South China Mall, Dongguan, China.
Empty section of New South China Mall, Dongguan, China.
Portion of Canal outside New South China Mall, Dongguan, China.
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