In recent years, China’s cultural tourism industry has seen a rise in the trend of ancient town construction, with many areas investing tens of billions or even hundreds of billions in building ancient cities and towns. However, due to lack of visitors, these places have been abandoned and turned into “ghost cities”.
On August 11th, a social media influencer visited the “Longtan Water Town” in Chengdu, Sichuan Province. This ancient town, constructed to resemble the famous painting “Along the River During the Qingming Festival”, is located in the central urban area of Chengdu, covering an area of 220 acres with an investment of over 20 billion yuan.
“Longtan Water Town” took 4 years to build, featuring Suzhou-style garden architecture with a blend of clever design elements from western Sichuan folk houses. The town is complete with small bridges, flowing water, and antique charm, comparable in scale to the Zhouzhuang ancient town, and opened on April 26, 2013.
However, just three years after its opening, this ancient town has become a deserted ghost town. Streets are desolate, shops are closed, stone steps are covered in moss, and railings are rusty and weathered.
The influencer who explored the ancient town expressed, “It’s very quiet, everywhere is so quiet and desolate. Most of these houses are empty now, it’s like a deserted city, at night it’s like a ghost town. I believe most people wouldn’t dare to come in at night, strolling alone in this ancient town is really terrifying.”
Apart from Sichuan’s Longtan Water Town, there are several other ancient towns in China that have similarly become “ghost cities” despite hefty investments, such as Changde Taohuayuan Ancient Town, Zhangjiajie Dayong Ancient City, and Changsha Tongguan Kiln Ancient Town.
A video shows that Taohuayuan Ancient Town is considered the largest in scale and most severely abandoned ancient town. It is located in the land depicted in the works of Tao Yuanming from the Eastern Jin Dynasty, with an investment of 5 billion yuan, covering an area of over 1600 acres, completed in 2016.
Originally planned as a comprehensive community covering residential areas, commercial streets, large hotels, and dining facilities, the ancient town faced bankruptcy within a year of opening. Many businesses that had moved in had to evacuate, leaving them empty-handed.
Many property owners had invested millions to buy houses here, only to find themselves unable to move in, leaving the place deserted without a soul in sight on regular days, eerily quiet and abandoned. Many are looking to sell their properties but find no takers, leaving the buildings vacant and surrounded by overgrown weeds.
Over 700 sets of courtyard-style houses in the ancient town, totaling a value of 1.5 billion yuan, are now up for auction at discounted prices on Alibaba’s platform, yet nobody shows interest.
In Hunan’s famous tourist destination Zhangjiajie, a Deyong Ancient City was built at a cost of 2.5 billion yuan, covering 325 acres. Since its trial operation in 2021, the ancient city has accumulated losses exceeding 1 billion yuan over 4 years. By the end of 2024, Deyong Ancient City’s total debt is 1.697 billion yuan, with net assets at negative 302 million yuan.
Today, Deyong Ancient City is deserted, once considered a flagship cultural tourism project in Zhangjiajie, now turned into a financial sinkhole of an “empty shell scenic area”.
In Hunan’s capital city Changsha, Tongguan Kiln Ancient Town, touted as a 10 billion yuan investment project with an initial ticket price of 200 yuan, immediately garnered complaints from visitors about the expensive tickets and high prices within the scenic area. Today, apart from the tourist center, there is hardly a soul to be seen in other areas, with numerous shops closed down, earning it the nickname of “ghost city” by netizens.
These ancient towns mentioned above are just a microcosm of the abandoned cultural tourism industry rampant throughout China. Since the 2000s, regions across China have been eager to develop cultural tourism attractions, towns, and specialized streets, incorporating them into GDP assessments and investment projects. However, with severe homogenization in the construction of fake ancient towns and imitation streets, criticism of “uniformity” and “cultural distortion” continues to rise. Many ancient towns have gradually lost their appeal, becoming deserted “ghost cities.”