The world's factory is deserted and in ruins; the prosperous scene is a thing of the past

Why is it so desolate now, with not even one person around? Logically speaking, Dongguan, known as the world's factory, should be bustling with people. Why is it so empty? Dongguan, China, known as the world's factory, is facing an increasingly depressed economy. Many factories and shops have closed. Walking down the streets of Dongguan, you see vacant shops everywhere, each with a for-rent notice. Mr. Wang, a supermarket owner, told reporters that business has been bad and he is losing money every day. His store's operating income is 70% lower than it was at its peak in 2007 and 2008. Life is very difficult now. Many factories in Dongguan are struggling to get orders. They either go bankrupt or downsize, replacing large factories with smaller ones. A netizen named Lang Zihua posted a video on Douyin showing many closed stores in Dongguan. In the video, he says, This is Lin Village, Tangxia Town, Dongguan. Many stores are for rent and so many are closed. Even a restaurant here is looking for a new place to rent. Everything inside, including the second floor, has been cleared out. Many stores are closed. Across from here is the Jindi Qianbaihui Business Center. Why are these shops closing? Why is there no business in such a prime location? There's still a tea shop holding on, but the barbecue restaurant and hardware store are also looking for a place to rent. It's happening everywhere. Even the foot massage pavilion is looking for a place to rent. Rows of stores are closed. Business is just too tough. You see, on this street of one or two hundred meters, there are dozens of stores looking for a new location. There's hardly anyone on the streets. How can this be? Even this milk tea shop has closed and is looking for a new location. Business is so difficult. There's an industrial zone nearby, so there should be many factory workers to support these businesses. But I don't understand why this is happening. In the video, he also mentions a factory in Huizhou that produces gift boxes. Many people came from Dongguan, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen to apply for jobs. The factory started interviews at 1.30 p.m. Apparently, the factory received a large batch of orders and was short-staffed, so they needed to hire many workers. They offered a high wage of 17 yuan per hour, with an 11-hour workday earning 187 yuan daily. Unexpectedly, four or five hundred people arrived at once, blocking the road outside the factory gate so cars couldn't pass. This factory isn't very large and doesn't need that many people. The boss was stunned. The supervisor said they would train the workers first, and if they still wanted the job after training, they could stay. If not, they could leave. He explained that the production demands are high, and if tasks aren't completed, workers would have to stay and work overtime without additional pay. Moreover, if they didn't meet their production targets within the first three days, they wouldn't be paid at all if they decided to leave. Not only is it difficult for workers without academic qualifications to find jobs, but even college graduates are struggling to secure employment. A netizen posted a video saying she met a college graduate who had come to Dongguan to look for a job. In the video, she says, It's so hard to find a job. I've been searching for several months. I came here from Shaoguan by myself, and I don't have a place to stay. I tried to find housing, but rent is too expensive, so I've had to stay with friends occasionally. I haven't found a job and the expenses are piling up. I don't have a choice but to keep trying my luck. If I don't find a job, how can I afford to live? Because so many factories have closed and workers have left, even Dongguan's catering industry has been severely impacted, with many restaurants shutting down. A Douyin user, Li Xingjie No. 1, posted a video saying that business has been bad this year. He saw a restaurant in Hojietown, Dongguan, which closed down after only two months of operation. He mentions a Hakka restaurant that had been running for over 10 years with good business, about 300 meters away from a newly opened Laoxiang restaurant, also a Hakka restaurant. The owner of the new restaurant likely opened it because they saw the success of the older one, but unfortunately, they ended up losing a lot of money. Now, no one visits restaurants to eat. In the first half of this year, more than a million restaurants in mainland China shut down, resulting in a surge in business for catering corpse collectors, who recycle restaurant equipment. Dongguan, once a globally renowned manufacturing hub, had many giant companies, some employing tens of thousands of workers, while others had over 100,000. One such large enterprise was Yueyuan Shoe Factory. Yueyuan Shoe Factory is a subsidiary of Taiwan's Pucheng Group, specializing in producing high-end brand sports shoes, including Adidas, Nike, and New Balance. The factory had two parks in Dongguan, one in Gaobu Town and the other in Huangjiang Town, with each employing more than 100,000 workers. The total number of employees across both parks exceeded 300,000. At the time, due to the large number of employees, the Yueyuan Shoe Factory had to organize lunch shifts in the canteen every day. After work, it would take more than 10 minutes just for all the employees to exit the factory. To maintain employee morale, Yueyuan Shoe Factory not only provided food and accommodation, but also operated kindergartens and schools for workers' children. Additionally, it had its own hospital, cinema, and fire brigade. In its heyday, Yueyuan occupied half of Gaobu Town, and its total export value accounted for 50% of the town's economy. In 2007, the factory's annual output value reached billions of U.S. dollars. However, in recent years, due to the sharp rise in labor costs, energy prices, and taxes in China, Yueyuan gradually withdrew from Dongguan and began moving its operations to Vietnam in 2012. The once-massive factory and dormitory buildings at the Yueyuan Park in Gaobu Town have since been abandoned, standing empty for years, evoking a sense of loss and nostalgia. In the video, she says, You can see how desolate it looks now, but back then, it was the world's largest shoe manufacturing factory. At its peak, it employed 300,000 people. You can imagine how prosperous it was. I've heard that during shift changes, countless workers entered and exited the factory, creating a spectacular scene. The nearby night market was always packed. Every day, there was an endless line of people queuing up for interviews at the factory gate. China's Government Debt Exceeds 70 Trillion Yuan Experts Debts are expected to explode one after another. The State Council of the Communist Party of China has publicly released its government debt report for the first time, showing that as of the end of last year, the government's statutory debt exceeded 70 trillion yuan. Experts have pointed out that this figure is severely understated, and the local debts of the Communist Party of China are expected to explode successively. On September 13, the website of the National People's Congress of the Communist Party of China published the report of the State Council on the Management of Government Debt in 2023. The national government's statutory debt balance exceeded 70 trillion yuan, with more than 30 trillion yuan being national debt and more than 40 trillion yuan being local government statutory debt. According to the National Bureau of Statistics of the Communist Party of China, the gross domestic product, GDP, for 2023 was 126 trillion yuan. The government's statutory debt ratio, the ratio of government debt balance to GDP, is 56.1 percent. Experts believe there may be adjustments behind the reported 70 trillion yuan in government statutory debt. David Huang, an economist living in the United States, said, The reported 70 trillion yuan figure likely includes modifications and has been whitewashed. It is intended to show that the current economic difficulties stem from historical debt problems and to reassure society that the debt situation is not as severe as it appears. It only accounts for just over 50 percent of GDP. In reality, China's government debt crisis is severe. According to forecasts from various international economic survey firms, the actual government debt far exceeds 70 trillion yuan. Li Henking, an economist also living in the United States, said, A figure like 70 trillion yuan is definitely an understatement. China raises funds and borrows domestically, provides guarantees when in debt, and also offers guarantees internationally. It is clear that China's current debt is very large. The well-known investment bank Goldman Sachs estimated in April last year that China's debt had reached 23 trillion USD 126 trillion yuan, which is equivalent to 126 percent of GDP. The China Finance 40 Forum estimates that by 2023, the total debt of China will reach 126 percent of GDP China's enterprises, government, and residents will reach 36.3 trillion yuan, or 288 percent of China's GDP. Li Henking added, These debts have become landmines throughout China, any of which could explode. It's just a matter of which will explode first and which will explode later.