By Jamie Mcintyre
Why does china have entire “ghost cities” and people advertising themselves for dates in public parks?
It’s all connected by a wild obsession with social status.
1. The dating market: In Shanghai parks, people post signs with phone numbers and family backgrounds to find partners because the shortage of women makes competition fierce.
2. Property = love: Owning at least two properties is a massive social status symbol; a man’s chances of finding a wife are much higher if he’s a multi-property owner.
3. The “free” apartment trap: Many ghost cities (like forest city) exist because developers gave away free secondary apartments to mainland buyers to drive sales.
While many of these developments remain 90% empty, some—like shanghai’s iconic new bund area—prove that even “ghost cities” can eventually transform into successful, bustling hubs.
Original source: https://x.com/jamiemcintyre21/status/2052692386304979141