Inside China’s failed $85bn city of the future that became empty ghost town…because ‘mega-Milton Keynes’ is too BORING
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THE $85 billion “model” city trumpeted by China as a pioneering solution to overcrowding has fallen flat as a “boring”, deserted “ghost town”. Xiong’an - a "covid-proof" smart city - was touted as a “model city in the history of human development”.
![[The high speed railway station in Xiong’an is squeaky clean - and often deserted]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/2023-china-spent-double-cost-962191809.jpg?strip=all&w=960)
The development is certainly there - it’s just the human aspect missing. Most of the people who do live there have been dragged over by their employers - themselves ordered to relocate to Xiong’an by the government. Schools, hospitals and universities are also being ordered in to populate the empty urban landscape.
![[The futuristic mega-city is crammed full of identical tower blocks]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/2023-china-spent-double-cost-962193476.jpg?strip=all&w=960)
One female resident rolling around the empty streets, Max Wang, summed the place up in one word to The Times: “Boring”. After being sent to the city by her employer, she told the paper: “There isn’t much social life. “Young people all work overtime, and there aren’t many opportunities for leisure or socialising.
![[A construction site in an area where many state owned enterprises are building their new headquarters]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/construction-site-area-many-state-962193416.jpg?strip=all&w=960)
“As for finding a boyfriend, you’ll just have to make do with hoping your friends provide.”. The shiny new mega-city was the pet project of Chinese president Xi Jingping. He ordered it to pristine specs: lightning-fast fibro optic connections; facial recognition systems; accommodation for self-driving cars.
![[The railway station looks a bit more exciting from the air]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/2020-xiongan-new-area-hebei-962194163.jpg?strip=all&w=960)
But resulting “oversized Milton Keynes” is testament to the fact that a city is more than bricks, mortar and glass. The government is trying all sorts of methods to drag up the population. For example, no one is allowed to buy a property and not live in it.
![[Headquarters of Sinochem Holdings under construction in the city]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/001-building-headquarters-sinochem-holdings-962193147.jpg?strip=all&w=960)
