Here’s another fabricated “ancient city” that has been abandoned. It’s called Tao Hua Yuan Old City and it’s located in Hunan Province. Construction has been mostly completed, but there are hardly any occupants even though the estate is designed with commercial and residential units and even a museum. It’s another mega project and Mr Shi had to use a drone to show the extent of the wastage.
According to Baidu:
Built at a cost of 4 billion yuan starting 2013 and expected to be completed in 8 years, Taohuayuan is located in Changde City, Hunan Province, with the towering Wuling Mausoleum in the south and Yuanshui River in the north. It is known as “the throat of Qianchuan and the gateway to Yunnan and Guizhou”. This rebuilt 2000-year old ancient city is expected to provide for food, residential, entertainment, shopping, worship, business and sightseeing.
The excellent geographical location combines the beauty of Tun Dongting Lake, Xiangxi, Wuxi and Wuling. The natural beauty includes mountains and rivers, with suggestions of folklore and poetic imagery. Taohuayuan is a key protected cultural relic and one of the top 10 scenic spots in Hunan Province.
A national forest park will soon be upgraded to a national-level scenic spot. The entire park has an area of 157.55 square km. The main scenic spot of “Xanadu” is 15.8 square km, the water area of the Yuanshui scenic zone of “Wuling Yuchuan” is 44.85 square km and the peripheral area is 96.9 square km. Other scenic spots include Taohua Mountain, Taoyuan Mountain, Qinren Village and Taoxianling. There are 16 landscape variations with 8 types of manmade hills, rock bodies, water bodies, river islands, caves, canyons, astrological features, and biological landscapes. Taohuayuan is expected to attract 6 million visitors a year.
It may shock you that Baidu is still trying to sell this place, but then, this is China.
Interestingly, there are many lei cha restaurants at this fabricated ancient city. For unknown reasons, some shops have been shut down by the authorities. There’s a house of horrors here but the whole estate has now become a city of horrors. Mr Shi observes that this fabricated ancient city has been abandoned for years and has nothing to do with the pandemic.
Nevertheless, there are a few occupants in the shop spaces at the main entrance. Probably because of the attractive construction of the gateway, there are still some tourists who visit to take pictures. Built at a cost of 5-6 billion, it is now an empty shell.
Just build and they will come? How many unsuspecting investors have bought property here?