Shepard - Ghost cities of China : the story of cities without people in the world’s most populated country

Asian Arguments

Asian Arguments is a series of short books about Asia today. Aimed at the growing number of students and general readers who want to know more about the region, these books will highlight community involvement from the ground up in issues of the day usually discussed by authors in terms of top-down government policy. The aim is to better understand how ordinary Asian citizens are confronting problems such as the environment, democracy and their societies development, either with or without government support. The books are scholarly but engaged, substantive as well as topical, and written by authors with direct experience of their subject matter.

SERIES EDITOR Paul French

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China and the Environment edited by Sam Geall

Leftover Women by Leta Hong Fincher

North Korea: State of Paranoia by Paul French

FORTHCOMING

Kashgar by Sam Chambers

The Enemy Within by Francis Wade

Myanmar by Irene Slight and Simon Long

Out of Pol Pots Shadow by Christina Larson

Last Days of the Mighty Mekong by Brian Eyler

About the author

Wade Shepard is an itinerant writer who has been travelling the world since 1999. He grew up in western New York State, at the heart of the infamous Rust Belt a place that knows ghost cities well. Having graduated from Long Island University Global (then Friends World Program), he has made his living as an archaeologist, a geographical researcher, a journalist, a farmhand and an independent blogger. In 2005 he ended up in China for the first time, and he hasnt been able to fully shake the country yet. Wade is a contributor to the South China Morning Post ; his work also appears in other major China-focused publications. He blogs at Vagabondjourney.com. For more on Chinas ghost cities visit Ghostcitiesofchina.com.

Ghost Cities of China

THE STORY OF CITIES WITHOUT PEOPLE
IN THE WORLDS MOST POPULATED COUNTRY

Wade Shepard

Zed Books
LONDON

Ghost Cities of China: The Story of Cities without People in the Worlds Most Populated Country was first published in 2015 by Zed Books Ltd, 7 Cynthia Street, London N 1 9 JF , UK

This ebook edition was first published in 2015

www.zedbooks.co.uk

Copyright Wade Shepard 2015

The right of Wade Shepard to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988

Typeset in Monotype Bulmer by illuminati, Grosmont

Index by John Barker

Cover design www.stevenmarsden.com

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying or otherwise, without the prior permission of Zed Books Ltd.

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

ISBN 978-1-78360-219-3 hb

ISBN 978-1-78360-218-6 pb

ISBN 978-1-78360-220-9 pdf

ISBN 978-1-78360-221-6 epub

ISBN 978-1-78360-222-3 mobi

Contents

Acknowledgements

I was once a freewheeling, light-hearted blogger who travelled the world, investigating any intrigue that struck my fancy, writing about whatever I wanted, and working for myself alone. I took assignments from no editor. I ran a team of ten writers where I called the shots and distributed the assignments. I was independent and proud. Then Paul French wrote: Wade, Just writing on the off chance that you might be interested in turning your series of articles on Chinas ghost towns and French/German Towns etc. into a small book for a series I edit called Asian Arguments for Zed Books in London.

I responded with a Definitely, yes, before Id even finished reading the email. Apparently, my maverick resolve was not as robust as Id assumed.

Throughout the year that followed I continued chasing down ghost cities and new developments across China, working arduously on assembling a manuscript on a topic that seemed to be changing faster than I could put down words about it. At every step of the way there were people who helped, directly or indirectly, to make Ghost Cities of China happen. I owe much gratitude to Kim Walker, my commissioning editor at Zed, for taking a shot on a first-time author and showing me the ropes of formal publishing. Thank you to Justin OJack, whose example, lessons and encouragement always made me feel that I could really accomplish something here in China. Thank you to Andy Graham of HoboTraveler.com, who long ago scooped me out of the mire of bloggers and showed me the path. Thank you to Patricia Franck Sheffield, whose letters of encouragement and support kept me walking in the footsteps of her father, the King of Vagabonds. Thank you to Steve Mendoza, who was there at the beginning, pouring me beers and politely listening to my incessant monologues about the nuances of urban development. I owe a debt of gratitude to the Friends World Program (now Global College) of Long Island University that extends far beyond my defaulted student loans your school for itinerant eccentrics taught me how to do things like conduct research in places like China. Thank you to the Maine family, Erik Pike, Donald Herbert, my sisters Nicky and Meili, and all the old friends from the fields and orchards of Western New York. Thanks to my mother and father, who never lost their sense of pride in their only son and brainwashed him into believing that he could accomplish whatever he dreamed up. And, of course, thank you to Paul French, who may have broken the inertia of my independence but in the process gave me that proverbial break.

Soon after I began this book I discovered that an author rarely works alone. There are often people behind the scenes picking up the slack and handling the mundane affairs of the world of dust while we play around in our literary la-la lands. I have been led to believe that these people are as essential to the book-writing process as pads of paper, voice recorders, Evernote and Scrivener, and I was fortunate enough to have one of these indispensable characters for myself. When I emptied my bank account rushing thousands of miles across China to gawk at barren construction sites and demolished villages, there was someone back home who paid the rent. When I sat hypnotized by the computer screen for hour after hour, day after day, there was someone doing the dishes, sweeping the floor and shopping for groceries. When I was too busy to make food, there was someone there to feed me. When I was stomping through cities without people, there was someone at home, doing a real job and taking care of my daughter. I will take the credit, the cheers and the jeers for the book that follows, but none of it would have been possible without the continuous support of the invisible hand that held it all together: my wife, Hannah Chaya. This book is dedicated to you. For a MacArthur and National Medal of Science-winning geographers granddaughter you suspended all reason, ignored the empirical evidence and abandoned common sense to believe in this squalid, prospect-deficient goy . They told you that you were crazy; you readily agreed, but you stuck it out anyway. Thank you.

This book is also for Motorcycle Bob Lyskowski, Deb Goss and the rest of the supporters of VagabondJourney.com you showed up in the early days and just kept reading, every step of the way, saying You know, you should really write a book. Well, I did write a book, but it may not have happened without all of you who never permitted me the luxury to quit. Walk Slow.