Original version

BBC World Service Online

Business Daily

Factual: Money

The daily drama of money and work from the BBC.

Business Daily: China's ghost city

06/12/2012

China's ghost city

BBC World Service - Business Daily, China's ghost city

Is China's ghost city a spectral warning of the weakness of the Chinese economic model?

Business Daily is in Inner Mongolia today, we visit Kang Bashi, China's ghost city and ask whether it represents a spectral warning of the weakness of the Chinese economic model

Justin Rowlatt continues his journey through the back roads of China.  800 kilometres from Beijing he visits the nation's coal capital, the glittering city of Kang Bashi that has risen from the surrounding desert.  But what he discovers is a ghost city, a city virtually without people.

So what does Kang Bashi say about the Chinese economy? 

Is the city a misjudged attempt by the provincial government to use the region's incredible coal wealth to develop a more sustainable economy?  

Or does it represent something much more profound, is it the most eye-catching example of the misguided investment policies of the Chinese state?  

Two Chinese experts with very different perspectives on the country discuss the issues.

Accessibility links

Programme Index

Business Daily

China's ghost city

Genres

Brand

BBC World Service Online

About BBC World Service