Horrific Flood Disaster in Jianchang, China: Funeral Homes Overwhelmed

Horrific flood disaster in Jiangcheng, China. Funeral homes overwhelmed. China's economic downturn is so severe that the office vacancy rate is now higher than it was during the pandemic. Authorities in many parts of Guangdong have closed rural primary schools to save the real estate market, leaving people in misery. On August 20th, a severe flood occurred in Jiangcheng County, Liaoning Province. Some netizens revealed that all reservoirs were at maximum capacity, with gates fully open that day. A total of 28 towns and villages in two counties were affected, involving about 400 villages and dozens of reservoirs. Some netizens also reported that only a few people remained in several villages, while some villages were completely deserted. Two weeks after the severe flood in Jiangcheng County, Liaoning Province, civilian rescue workers and yin-yang masters revealed that the Jiangcheng funeral home was full and many bodies were unclaimed. Due to the hot weather, they were buried directly on the spot. It is estimated that there were 2,000 to 3,000 casualties and nearly 2,000 missing persons. A rescue worker, using the alias Lao Zhao, disclosed that the Jiangcheng funeral home was overwhelmed and the bodies found were unrecognizable. Many were unclaimed and some were mistakenly identified. In one case, an elderly woman from Heishan who had been buried for three days was later found alive. There were also instances where two families disputed over a body, with DNA testing ultimately resolving the issue. Lao Zhao, a civilian rescue worker, said, No one is claiming the bodies. They smell and are decomposing. The funeral home doesn't want to handle unclaimed bodies. There's no place to store them. There may be 2,000 to 3,000 casualties. The village collectively suffered an accident, and the military handled the situation. We know it's over. You can't see anything when you go to the site. In northeast China, a person working in funeral services is called a yin-yang xiangsheng. Mr. Zhang, who was also affected by the disaster, rushed to help bury the victims. Due to the hot weather, he buried them directly on the spot. Yin-yang xiangsheng Zhang said, I rushed there. As soon as I pulled him out of the house, the crane buried him directly. It was done in one go. I buried him in Hantun Central Square. I didn't even need cremation. I just buried him peacefully. It's over. They said 1,863 people were missing, and everyone is looking for them. Some villages are still searching. Excavators and cranes have been digging for days but haven't found them. Rescue workers repairing the roads also revealed that many bodies in the disaster area of Jiangcheng were washed into neighboring Suizhong County or even farther to the seaside. Wang Hao, a civilian rescue worker, said, I encountered those who were washed away. Those who looked terrible were taken out and placed aside for people to identify. More than a thousand people in Zhuanggenping are gone. Those who were washed away had no clothes on, no distinguishing features, and were unrecognizable. They were all washed to Suizhong and Huludao. Some netizens criticized the authorities in the comment section of disaster area videos. They aren't allowing any reports or discussions about those who were washed away. This time it's really too serious. Why didn't they notify us when they released water from the reservoir? If people were warned, there wouldn't have been so many deaths. An online anchor also revealed that they were being closely monitored. Mijue, an internet anchor, said, How many people died in the disaster area? This is a particularly sensitive issue. Will my account be blocked if I talk about it? How many people are monitoring us, Jiancheng anchors? I'll say this later. Not only did Uncle Hat find me, but people were also reporting me during the live broadcast, so I can't say anything now. China's economic downturn is so severe that the office vacancy rate is now higher than it was during the pandemic. Currently, office vacancy rates in major Chinese cities such as Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen have risen, even surpassing levels seen when the lockdown was lifted during the epidemic. Meanwhile, rents are falling, indicating that China's economic slowdown has damaged business confidence. China's commercial real estate market still faces a significant oversupply problem. Vacancy rates in some cities are close to the highest levels in 20 years, while rents continue to plummet. The Financial Times reported on August 30th that in major overseas cities, the rise of flexible working systems has led to some vacancies in office buildings. However, in Chinese cities, far fewer people work from home, and analysts say the economic slowdown is the main reason for the rising vacancy rates. According to data from three real estate agencies, at least one-fifth of high-end office buildings in Shenzhen were vacant as of June this year, while office vacancy rates in Beijing, Guangzhou, and Shanghai were also higher than in June 2022. Overall, rents are at least 10% lower than they were two years ago. The biggest challenge remains China's weakening economic growth, which has led to a significant reduction in market demand, Lucia Leung, deputy director of research and consulting at Night Frank Greater China, told the Financial Times. Data from Colliers International showed that the vacancy rate of prime office buildings in Shenzhen was 27% in June, up from 20% in June 2022, and monthly rents fell 15% year-on-year, in line with trends observed by Night Frank and Jones Lang LaSalle. The three agencies have also recorded similar increases in vacancy rates in other cities. Night Frank reported that as of June, the vacancy rate of high-end office buildings in Shanghai was close to 21%, up from 14% in June two years ago. The agency's data also showed that rents fell 13% year-on-year. Jones Lang LaSalle estimated that as of June, the vacancy rate of prime office buildings in Guangzhou was 21%, and in Beijing, it was 12%, up from 16%, and 10% in 2022, respectively. At the same time, new buildings are still entering the market. In April this year, Cushman and Wakefield predicted that vacancy rates are expected to remain high over the next 12 months. According to statistics previously released by market agency CBRE, the vacancy rate of Beijing's office market in the first quarter of this year was 22%. Some buildings in Shanghai's Dehongqiao and North Bund areas, where office buildings are concentrated, have vacancy rates as high as 50%. Shenzhen has the highest vacancy rate. In the first quarter of this year, the vacancy rate of Grade A office buildings in Shenzhen continued to rise to 27.0%. In the first quarter of this year, the vacancy rate in Guangzhou increased by 1.0 percentage point month-on-month to 17%. Authorities in many parts of Guangdong have closed rural primary schools to save the real estate market, leaving people in misery. It has been reported online that many rural primary schools in Zhaoqing and Heiwan, Guangdong, have been closed, prompting children and parents to gather in protest for several days. Farmers complained that the authorities' move was intended to force them to move to the city and buy houses. Schools in mainland China are set to open in September, but many primary school students in Zhaoqing and Heiwan have no schools to attend, leading parents and children to gather in defense of their rights. The independent media outlet Yesterday, which focuses on mass incidents in mainland China, released a video report indicating that authorities in Zhaoqing and Heiwan closed rural primary schools under the pretext that the quality of teaching in the city is better, forcing rural left-behind children to attend city schools, thereby increasing the burden on farmers. On September 1st and 2nd, students and parents from at least three primary schools held protests. In Huaiji County, Zhaoqing, villagers and students at the Genji teaching point held rallies for two consecutive days, September 1st and 2nd, protesting the local authorities' closure of the school and demanding that it be reopened. The villagers claimed that the real purpose of the authorities' closure of the Genji teaching point was to force farmers to move to the city and buy houses. On September 1st, villagers in Xinguang Village, Yidu Town, Longchuan County, Heiwan City also launched a rights protection action. They blocked traffic to protest the authorities' closure of the only primary school in the village. The villagers also believed that this move was intended to force them to buy houses in the city. On September 2nd, some villagers and students in Queqiao Village, Zicheng Town, Zijin County, Heiwan City also gathered on campus, demanding that the authorities withdraw their decision to close the school. On the overseas platform Axe, some netizens criticized the authorities, saying, the Communist Party is really an expert in forcing good people into desperate situations. Another netizen left a comment saying, no birth, no destruction, mocking the CCP for using children as a weak point to coerce the people. In the past, real estate was the main financial pillar of local CCP governments. In recent years, local authorities have introduced various unusual measures to stimulate the housing market, but the effect has been limited, and the real estate market continues to decline. In June of this year, governments in places like Fengyang, Anhui, Nantong, Jiangsu, and Ezhou, Hubei, introduced policies offering housing purchase subsidies to lure farmers into giving up their homesteads and buying houses in the city, which sparked negative reactions on Weibo. Netizens believe this is an attempt to trick farmers into taking on real estate, even at the cost of cutting off their fallback options. Shanghai in decline. City in debt. Businesses vanishing. Unemployment rising. Who understands? Stores closing one after another is making everyone nervous. Look, there are only five Carrefour stores left in Shanghai, and today, the CR Vanguard Dahua store officially closed. I saw it myself, the stores have been sealed with tape, and the shops leading to the supermarket aisle are having crazy clearance sales. This is Dahua Tiger City, located at the intersection of Baoshan, Xiabei, Putuo, and Xianyang districts, bustling with crowds, especially on weekends. Almost every Sunday, my grandfather would take me on the No. 27 tram to enjoy the bustling atmosphere on Nanjing Road. To be honest, it's disheartening to see multiple vacant storefronts along this section of Nanjing West Road. What we are looking at now are the street-level shops of the Zhongshuang Building, opposite 818 Plaza. One of them has its lights on during the day, but the entire store is empty. Although there is a Metro Line 2 station exit here, these few shops have changed hands multiple times over the past few years. The owners have sold clothing, operated Starbucks coffee, and tea by now. The shops have also been vacant several times, suggesting that business has been challenging. This is the No. 20 tram station opposite the Zhongshuang Building. The shops on the backside are also vacant. If you check the historical images on Baidu Maps, you can see that the shops west of the American Eyewear Store were also vacant in February 2021. In May 2019, a clothing store was operating there. Now, the shop windows still display well-known vacancy notices. Daoxiang Jing'an Store closed, and its number of stores in Shanghai dropped sharply from seven to only two. Shanghai, once hailed as China's cosmopolitan heart and a global financial powerhouse, is grappling with a significant decline in 2024. This downturn is evident in its economic landscape and expatriate community. This shift not only alters Shanghai's global business standing but also profoundly impacts its socioeconomic fabric, marking a period of decline unseen in recent history. The Daimya Shopping Center in People's Square in Shanghai is now closed down. I miss the crowds that were packed every day a few years ago. Doing business near the train station has become increasingly difficult, and many customers are no longer spending money in the vicinity. Why is that? Today, let's take a look at the situation here in front of the Shanghai Railway Station. Across the street is the ticket office, and many shops on this side have closed down. One of the reasons, specifically in Shanghai, is the high cost of living. I asked locals about it, and they said the property prices here in Jing'an District are over 11,000 US dollars per square meter. Just think about how much the annual rent would be. It's very expensive to operate a business here. I asked the owner of the hostel where I'm staying, and he said he has many hostels in Shanghai. Just the annual rent costs him over 83,000 US dollars, and he ends up giving at least half of his income to the landlord every year. This factory in Shanghai has closed down and moved away. The economy of many metropolitan cities in China are also failing. Dongfang International Trade, which was once very busy, has now entered bankruptcy and liquidation. Shanghai's real estate sector, a critical component of both the local and national economy, has experienced a significant downturn, mirroring national trends. According to data released in the first two months of 2024, property investment in China fell by 9% compared to the same period in the previous year, with sales of newly built property also seeing a notable decrease of 20.5% in floor area terms. I really can't believe it. Now, 80% of households in Shanghai are technically bankrupt. I work in loans in Shanghai, so you guys shouldn't overlook this. Some people may appear glamorous on the surface, but in reality, they may not even afford a bowl of beef noodles for 4 US dollars. Currently, those who want to sell their houses for cash, can't find buyers, and even renting them out is challenging. Those who bought houses with loans are in a worse situation. Every month, almost all of their income goes towards mortgage payments, and they dare not risk losing their jobs. Once they are unemployed or out of work, they lose even the last vestige of dignity. This is the reality for most families in Shanghai now. Everyone is enduring, pretending to be doing well, and convincing themselves that there's still a chance for the housing market to recover. However, I think Shanghai's property prices will enter a long period of decline, making it difficult to recover. What do you think? It's been a while since anyone's had late night snacks, hasn't it? Take a look around. I'm currently filming on the street, and all these shops can't stay open anymore. There are fewer and fewer people ordering takeaway, which means businesses are closing up early. And now, with no orders, we're just wandering the streets. Just earlier, I showed you a place that's constantly for rent. Now, there are so many closed shops along the roadside. I'm currently in Xinjiang, Shanghai. Orders are scarce here. Let me turn left and show you the When was the last time you had late night snacks? You can comment below. Orders in the evening are really pitiful. You can't get any at all. Seriously, no orders to be had. You can't even see any delivery guys on the street. Most of the eateries along the street have closed down. They open fast and close fast. Take a look at how many shops have closed here. The losses are endless, especially for those without any restaurant experience. They open a shop here and it closes within two or three months. Then they switch to another one. This downturn is part of a longer trend of cooling in the property market, exacerbated by a prior regulatory crackdown on developer leverage, leading to a liquidity crisis within the sector. While government efforts to arrest this downturn have been reported, the effectiveness of these efforts remains to be fully seen, with analysts cautious about declaring an end to the property sector's woes. In the past, job applications would be followed by numerous interview calls. But now, even after applying for months, there may be no response at all. Moreover, the rental market in Shanghai has also declined. A real estate consultant in Shanghai has stated that there have been no new tenants in the past few months, and many existing clients have downgraded their rental preferences. Some netizens have even noticed that many shops near the Hongko Football Stadium metro station have closed down, although others suggest that this may be due to demolition and relocation. Regardless, for ordinary workers, job opportunities are becoming increasingly scarce, while those with actual resources remain unaffected. As China's economic center, Shanghai should not be experiencing such a situation. It is hoped that the government will take measures to ensure employment and livelihood for the common people. The worst city center in Songjiang, the once most prosperous shopping mall, is now closed. What has happened in the past few years? The once lively pedestrian streets are now all closed. Why is this happening? What caused this? It is truly difficult to imagine that Sichuan North Road has now fallen into such a state of decline. The once-bustling Chuenzhong Cinema, which attracted thousands during its heyday, has now been transformed into a small grocery market, frequented only occasionally by elderly residents from the surrounding area. The four major department stores—Spring Department Store, 7th Department Store, Fuhai Mall, and Dongbao Department Store—have all closed down. The West Lake Restaurant, once a state-owned establishment that was always fully booked, now only consists of an old building. Qipu Road Clothing Market, once considered the wardrobe of Shanghai residents, now sees more than half of its street-facing shops on the first floor closed, and the same goes for the internal stalls. The Superfeijie Clothing Market above the second floor has been entirely shut down. Overall, the consumption at Qipu Road Clothing Market has shrunk by at least half compared to its peak period. Adding to the investment decline is the stark decrease in foreign direct investment FDI into China, which has also impacted Shanghai. In 2023, China's FDI totaled just US$33 billion on a net basis, a drastic reduction of about 80% from the previous year and the lowest level in 30 years. This decline points to heightened concerns among foreign investors regarding issues such as detentions for alleged spying, US sanctions, and general apprehensions about the Chinese market's regulatory environment. Shanghai, as a global financial hub, has undoubtedly felt the impact of this decline, potentially affecting its ambitions to attract international businesses and maintain its status as a leading economic center. The high cost of living in difficult for many to stay in the city post-2021. Gatherings with friends that once cost a few hundred yuan now require thousands. With rising living expenses, education costs for children, and stagnant wages, many find it challenging to make ends meet. The average factory worker earns between 700 to 1,000 US dollars per month, which is insufficient to keep up with the ever-increasing prices and the highest housing costs in the country. Living in Pudong, Shanghai, affording a home is out of reach for most, and even rental prices are high. In Songjiang, a single room in a shared apartment costs 170 to 225 US dollars. Once-thriving commercial areas like Zhongshan Middle Road and Kaiyuan Mediterranean have seen many shop closures. Colleagues have had to change careers, becoming ride-hailing or food delivery drivers, but even these jobs are not as lucrative as before. Children's education is another concern, as many cannot meet the requirements for enrollment in local schools and have no choice but to return to their hometowns. Although the government encourages the street stall economy, it is not easy to set up a stall without being chased away by urban management, making it feel like a thief's life. Earning and saving money for a home has become incredibly difficult. Infrastructure spending, crucial for sustaining urban development and economic growth, has also seen a decline within regions faced with high debt servicing burdens. A Fitch Ratings report highlighted a directive from the central government to 12 regions in China, including presumably those surrounding Shanghai, to reduce infrastructure spending in 2024 by 23% compared to the previous year. This reduction is part of a broader effort to contain local government debt risks, albeit at the potential cost of economic growth and development momentum within these regions. The cumulative effect of these declines across real estate, FDI, and infrastructure investment is substantial, highlighting a multifaceted challenge facing Shanghai's economy. While the short-term implications include slowed growth and reduced investor confidence, the long-term effects could potentially reshape Shanghai's economic landscape, influencing everything from urban development to international business presence and innovation sectors. The disappearance of foreign companies, the cloistered doors of local businesses, and the ghostly silence in places that once buzzed with life are not just symbols of economic downturn, they are harbingers of a deeper malaise. For a city that prided itself on being at the forefront of China's charge towards global dominance, the current state of affairs is nothing short of a stark awakening to the realities of geopolitical tension, regulatory missteps, and the pitfalls of unchecked growth. The empty scenes at Dahua Tiger City and the deserted spaces along Nanjing West Road are just the beginning. Families, burdened by insurmountable debts and a living cost that far outstrips their incomes, find themselves teetering on the brink. Dreams of homeownership or financial stability have turned into nightmares of financial ruin, with 80% of households in Shanghai teetering on the edge of bankruptcy. The very soul of the city, its people, now faces a future where the promise of recovery feels like a distant mirage.