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China's economic recovery
EconomyChina Economy

‘Unforgivable’: Chinese county still living in shadow of wild spending binge

In the 2010s, Dushan splashed billions on high-rises and a fake Big Ben. Today, the buildings are mostly empty – but the debts remain

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Illustration: Henry Wong
Luna Sunin Dushan county, Guizhou province
Few areas of China reflect the country’s decades-long economic transformation more vividly than its cities. Rapid development has turned villages into dense urban landscapes and already sizeable metro areas into some of the world’s largest population centres. As the rate of urbanisation slows and the country transitions into a new economic era, we explore how select Chinese cities are navigating the change. Read the rest of our series here.

In a remote corner of China’s southwestern Guizhou province, hulking replicas of ancient Chinese city walls, Beijing’s Forbidden City and London’s Big Ben rise from the jagged karst landscape.

The town feels almost surreal: a blend of ruin and grandeur that defies logic. Half-built resorts and deserted monuments dot the skyline. Rows of crumbling storefronts and semi-demolished buildings stand like open wounds along the dusty main road.

Until recently, this community of just over 350,000 people nestled in the Guizhou mountains was largely unknown in China. But it is now famous across the country as a cautionary tale: a story of reckless investment on an epic scale.

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