[berserk1010]

> China is still urbanizing rapidly.

Many things wrong with that statement. There is a reverse migration from cities back to countryside, since the wages in the city have fallen, jobs have disappeared, rent is still expensive, and it's harder to justify living in the city when you can only save a few hundred dollars a year from a job.

Thus, empty retail stores in major tier 1 cities. Empty apartments in Dongguan and Shenzhen. Small crowds at malls.

[dathinab]

From what I heard that is a somewhat "recent" trend while most ghost city cases I heard of outdate that trend by month potential over a year.

I think a lot of people living in the west without ties to china haven't realized that there are many huge but sometimes subtle changes in China in the last view years.

[seanmcdirmid]

> while most ghost city cases I heard of outdate that trend by month potential over a year.

Isn't that like the people who claim that huge sky scraper in Tianjin will be finished any day now?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goldin_Finance_117

Kangbashi is up to 100k now, at least, but they designed for a million, so it is still pretty empty. As soon as coal becomes big again, maybe it will fill up.

[seanmcdirmid]

Empty retail stores in major tier 1 cities wasn't unusual even in good times. Nor were empty apartments in tier 1/2/3 cities as well as small crowds at malls. Actually, I would be hard pressed to use these signs as good or bad news, since they are so normal.

[biotopia]

you should check this video out https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yizM5O5HoMg

Wangfujing and Sanlitun, which used to be one of the bustling streets in Beijing, now empty

[Syntaf]

Anecdotally, there’s a great episode of the journal[1] that does not lend too much credence to the idea that the reverse migration movement is anything but a temporary stay away from home.

I think it’s much too early to really say the trend is sticking.

[1] https://open.spotify.com/episode/7s85fsvxULfVNGxUVQAMtT?si=g...

[bakuninsbart]

A slow down in the rate of urbanisation isn't a reversal. I think you'll be hard pressed finding data to support your argument.