China's Largest Ghost Towns

Inside one of China's largest ghost towns: Development next to nuclear power plant left deserted as locals fear radiation poisoning

• The complex in Huizhou, in the southeast of China, is one of the country's largest white elephants
• Named Dayawan, the buildings stand near to a nuclear power plant which has put people off living in the area
• Recently at night lights were seen on in only two out of 2,328 apartments

By Tara Brady
PUBLISHED: 15:39 GMT, 23 December 2013 | UPDATED: 16:01 GMT, 23 December 2013

This is one of China's ghost towns - a 14 square mile development where no-one wants to live.
The complex in Huizhou in Guangdong province in the southeast of China is one of the country's largest white elephants.  
Named Dayawan, the buildings stand near to a nuclear power plant.

Where is everyone? The complex in Huizhou in Guangdong province in the southeast of China is one of the country's largest white elephants

Locals fear radiation poisoning and have kept away. 
The development is also at least an hour's drive from the nearby major metropolis of Shenzhen, another factor for keeping it empty of residents.

 

Despite the fact that the homes are low cost, developers have been unable to sell them.
Recently at night lights were seen on in only two out of 2,328 apartments.

Named Dayawan, the buildings stand near to a nuclear power plant which has put people off buying properties on the site

The development is also at least an hour's drive from the nearby major metropolis of Shenzhen

White elephant: Rows upon rows of apartment blocks stand empty in Huizhou in Guangdong province

'I will never buy a home here. It’s so scary at night,' said Wen Lin.
But it is not much better in daylight.  
Despite developers promising attractive terms and a free lunch just to look around, there are few takers.

Dead: Recently at night lights were seen on in only two out of 2,328 apartments in Huizhou in Guangdong province in the southeast of China

Despite developers promising attractive terms and a free lunch just to look around there has been few takers

The development where no-one wants to live: An officer stands outside one of the empty buildings in Huizhou in Guangdong province

A man stands in an empty car park in Huizhou in Guangdong which is at least an hour's drive from the nearby major metropolis of Shenzhen

Factory workers in the area already have their board provided for them in dormitories built adjacent to their workplace. 
But developers are still optimistic, believing the block will be prosperous with more and more enterprises coming in the future.
It is not the first town that has been left abandoned in China.
Earlier this year a theme park called Wonderland on the outskirts of Beijing had to be torn down aftr a catastrophic history stretching over 15 years.
Construction work at the 120 acre site ground to a halt in 1998 due to a dispute between the developers and the landowners and a corruption scandal that went right to the heart of the communist party.

Empty: The Tianducheng development in Hangzhou is designed to accommodate at least 10,000 people but it has instead been labelled as a ghost town

As a result, the huge, half-finished, Bavarian-style structures complete with their spires and battlements and a myriad of medieval-themed buildings were simply left to crumble.
The Tianducheng development in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, has been filled with grand European buildings, wide walkways and even has its own Eiffel Tower.
There is also a replica of a fountain from the Luxemburg Gardens in a main square called Champs Elysées.
With China's love of all things French, the developers no doubt expected the town to be a huge success.
But things didn't quite work out as they would have hoped.
Despite being designed to accommodate at least ten thousand people, the town remains sparsely populated.
Pictures showing the large streets remaining virtually empty.