【Epoch Times August 28, 2025 News】The city of Qingdao, once known as a “seaside paradise,” is currently experiencing a unprecedented downturn and desolation throughout the entire city. The once bustling commercial streets are now empty, transitioning from a frenzied real estate market to desperate families facing cut-offs. This city is sinking into the harsh reality of economic downturn. The collapse of housing prices and freeze in employment are not only taking away wealth but also the hopes and dignity of countless families. The hearts of the people in Qingdao have completely collapsed.
Blogger “Insider Revealer” shared a video showing the current situation in Qingdao: the tall buildings standing with storefronts closing down one by one, leaving the streets deserted with dust-covered billboards mocking the city’s decline. Real estate agencies on the street have long closed down, with faded banners swinging in the wind, resembling epitaphs of a dead city.
Entering the commercial district of Qingdao, the hustle and bustle of the past is nowhere to be found. Storefronts are tightly shut with rental signs plastered on the doors. Less than two out of ten shops are open on a business street. Even the open shops are nearly empty, with employees lazily scrolling through their phones. Restaurants have only a few customers during meal times, and the owners carrying dishes from the kitchen exhibit a sense of loneliness in their eyes. Even the iconic seafood market of Qingdao is empty. The lively haggling and bargaining scenes have disappeared, leaving the stall owners sitting idly on plastic stools. Crabs and abalones remain unsold for days. Stall owners sigh, lamenting that the people of Qingdao have no money left to buy seafood.
The night in Qingdao is more disheartening than the day. What used to be neon-lit vibrant streets are now pitch dark, with scattered dim lights glowing. Many high-priced purchased storefronts have turned into abandoned spaces, covered in dust with nothing inside. Even the most bustling shopping centers in the city center are struggling to survive with only half the businesses open. The vast malls are desolate, with fewer customers than staff. Some floors have even turned off the lights, resembling abandoned warehouses.
Office buildings sit vacant, elevators opening and closing without a single sound of footsteps. Investors are left with nothing, small businesses are shutting down, and young people are leaving the city with their belongings, leaving behind a city filled with desolation and silence.
As the Chinese property market continues to decline, Qingdao’s housing prices are not exempt from the trend. Blogger “Insider Revealer” stated that what was once referred to as an investment paradise and wealth boom in the real estate industry five years ago has turned into a nightmare for many. Houses that were bought for five million then are now valued at a mere one million, with no takers even after being on the market for a year. Families that once took on loans are now facing unemployment together, unable to sell their houses and pay off their debts.
One female landlord mentioned that she bought a house in Huangdao Xiulan Xiyuan Mountain for about 1.5 million in 2020. In just a few years, she lost four to five hundred thousand. Her neighbor suggested that the house can at most be sold for one million. She expressed her frustration.
Another citizen stated that if housing prices in Qingdao continue to fall, many families will collapse. Currently, the number of second-hand homes listed for sale has exceeded 170,000, ranking among the top ten nationwide.
There was a time in mainland China when three phrases were popular among the public: “A home is necessary for a family, without a home there is no family; No home, no marriage; No home, your child cannot go to school.”
A female citizen expressed her indignation, saying that these three phrases, which compelled people to buy homes, became increasingly forceful, especially the last one, making 90% unable to resist. However, now it’s clear that those were all deceitful. She asked, “Which of these phrases compelled you to buy a house?”
A real estate agent stated, “Recently, we have seen many houses being discounted by millions. Many upscale owners are folding (cutting prices in half) and selling their properties. At least a quarter of households in Qingdao are close to bankruptcy. The debts they owe may far exceed the assets for down payments. The number of foreclosed homes in Qingdao is increasing. Many court cases for foreclosed homes are being turned down. Many people can no longer afford their mortgage payments and have defaulted. Some people, even if they sell their houses, still won’t have enough to repay the bank loans.”
Another agent mentioned that another landlord broke down in tears in the office. He bought the house for 13,000 per unit, with an initial payment of 400,000 at the time, repaying tens of thousands of loans. Now he owes the bank 690,000. However, the market value of his house is at most 500,000. If he sells the house, he will incur an additional 190,000 loss.
He said, “My heart weighs heavy too, because this kind of situation is widespread.” Since 2019, those who bought houses with loans, as long as they don’t repay early, are either insolvent or on the verge of insolvency. With housing prices continuing to drop, once people enter, it’s like the car door is welded shut with no way out. These landlords will only accumulate more debts, and the hole will continue to grow. A house changes the fate of an entire family, leaving everyone helpless!
He stated that for landlords who don’t need the house to live in, it’s better to sell as soon as possible while they still can.
“Blogger ‘Qingdao Legendary Real Estate Chats’ who has been in the real estate industry in Qingdao for 16 years mentioned that just two years ago, a large high-rise in the Shibei District of Qingdao, over a hundred square meters, was selling for at least over two million. Now it has almost halved. There is no bottom for the same quality of houses, only lower prices. Many houses, even at very low prices, remain unsold, stuck in a miserable state of continuous price drops and no buyers.”
He mentioned that this situation might continue until the end of the year.
He noted that the most severely discounted area in Qingdao surprisingly turned out to be Laoshan, where top-tier large flats along the coastal line, with views of the sea, were previously selling for over a hundred million, but have now dropped to around forty million or even twenty million, and remain unsold. The market is forced to trade at reduced prices for volume. Those genuinely interested in buying houses are not in a hurry, believing there is still room for further price reductions.
“Blogger ‘Insider Revealer’ stated that those who once became wealthy through real estate investments have now turned real estate into a graveyard for investments, with deteriorating values. For each house sold, the price continues to drop. Mortgage loans strangle people, and speculators sell at a loss, starting at five million and dropping to three million, then two million, finally ending up at just over one million, with no buyers in sight. Hundreds of thousands of families in Qingdao now struggle to even afford their children’s school fees. Trying to sell the house to clear debts, they list it on real estate platforms for a year without any inquiries. The once confident homeowners now despairingly post on social media: house for sale at bargain price, who wants it. Yet all they receive in return is silence.
He said, “The housing market collapse in Qingdao is not only taking away wealth but also the hopes and dignity of these families. A couple helplessly stated that their house is now unsellable, unsalvageable waste paper that still chokes them every month with mortgage payments. Many people once believed they could change their destiny through buying houses, only to have their dreams shattered by the houses, with tears and despair accumulating in every corner of this coastal city, where the chill lingers in the night breeze on the empty streets.”
Even more frighteningly, “Insider Revealer” stated that the desolation in Qingdao isn’t limited to the housing market. With a trend of business closures and layoffs spreading, the employment market in Qingdao has come to a standstill, with more and more people facing unemployment, and the sound of sighs becoming increasingly pervasive in the streets. Many job-seekers have been searching for months with no results, and young people queue up at factory entrances for employment, only to find hourly wages as low as eleven or twelve yuan, barely crossing three thousand at the end of the month. White-collar workers are even more bitter, losing their once respectable office jobs and being forced to become delivery riders or couriers. However, these industries are overflowing with workers, motorcycle riders eagerly waiting for dispatch orders. Some ruefully say, the number of delivery riders now actually exceeds the number of people ordering takeout.
“The most direct sign of a city’s collapse is the complete breakdown of people’s spirits. More and more people in Qingdao are choosing to flee, sending their children back to their hometowns, leaving their houses in Qingdao, and going to work elsewhere. The once bustling subway now stands desolate, while bus stops once filled with queues are now empty. This seaside city of Qingdao is slowly being engulfed by the harsh realities, transitioning from vibrancy to desolation.”