Zhengzhou a mid sized city in China is the pathway via train or flight to the famous Shaolin temple and ancient city of Luoyang. Unfortunately I couldn't cover them on this trip.
We arrived in Zhengzhou early in the morning and took a bus from the railway station to a park on the Huang He(Yellow River) called "Yellow River Scenic Park". Chiang Kai-Shek had destroyed a levee on Huang He near Zhengzhou flooding the entire area , preventing the Japanese from taking over Zhengzhou at a huge human cost. The guide books had given me the impression that we would we able to the see the levee at park. I was disappointed to find a typical modern Chinese park instead. Two huge modern concrete statues of emperors/kings of Chu and Hans states overlooking a sizeable pavilion and beyond it the river. Just as we arrived at the base of the statues, a show with an emperor and some maidens was ongoing. As I cribbed about being misled to believing that there was some historical value to the park, Arnab revelled in the some of his favourite items - Chinese beauties and concrete monsters. We decided to climb the stairs closer to the statues to get a better view of Huang He.Unfortunately it was one of those days in winter, when fog covers most places in northern China and visibility was poor. We then proceeded to the 'Mao Viewing point', the spot where Mao had surveyed Huang He and proclaimed "We must take good control of the Yellow river".Soon Arnab and I got tired of the park as we had seen similar ones and decided to proceed to the main attraction of the trip - the ghost city.
View of the statues from below
View from the base of the statues looking at the pavilion and the river in the background
The Zhengzhou New city as it is called lies close to the old city and we were able to take a taxi there. The centrepiece of the New city is the Zhengzhou International Convention Centre and the man made pond next to the Centre.Huge high rise buildings encircle the Convention centre.As we got off the taxi we could see signs of 'desertion' , large branches of banks without a single customer. Streets absolutely devoid of traffic as a few motor racers used the 12 lane roads as makeshift race course.
Empty roads
Outside the convention centre
Pond near the convention centre
Inside the convention centre - We talked our way inside :)
The situation had definitely improved since the time of the Daily Mail article.As we got closer to the convention centre, we could see more people. The parking lot of the convention centre had been turned into a picnic spot with vendors selling food and game stalls being setup. The convention centre itself was empty and there was a one room art exhibition going on in one of the smaller adjacent buildings. I noted that it was one of the few places in China where I could take photos without having to figure how to keep people out of the shot.
A new high rise in the background , smaller exhibition buildings in the foreground
Empty buildings in the background
Smaller exhbition centre
We decided to get lunch in a nearby shopping mall. This was the only place which felt close to China - It had a reasonable crowd but even there most of the shops were empty. Arnab went gaga when he came across Dunkin' Donuts.
Empty shops
We decided to walk along the lake and then along the river to take some shots. It was only during this walk we realised how much construction was going on currently and how deserted the buildings were. As night fell, we could see that 80-90% of the of the apartments were not occupied as the lights were not switched on. We decided to leave a bit early for the train station as were not sure if we could get a cab back, considering how empty the streets were.
Below the bridges
More buildings being constructed everywhere
While some may argue that the ghost cities of China point to a real estate bubble about to burst, it also shows the advantage of a strong central planning. Expecting the challenges of the coming rural to urban migration, the Chinese government was upgrading the urban infrastructure.This is stark comparison to the lack of clear direction in urban development in seen other asian countries notably India.
