Shanghai Exodus: Wealthy Sell Homes, Millions Flee, Foreign Districts Left Deserted

It's all covered in today's China Truths. This time I came to Shanghai, I suddenly found that Shanghai seems very depressed. There are not many people in the shopping malls, and many factories have closed down. Look at this airport, it is also deserted, with very few people. The netizen lamented that there is really no comparison between Shanghai now and the He checked and found that Shanghai has experienced a net outflow of people in recent years. A man visited a newly opened shopping mall in Shanghai and found that there was very little foot traffic inside. Let's go to Guozhen and take a look at Shanghai. I heard people say that the economy is very depressed now, and we'll see if there are more people there. There are no people here at all. What's wrong with the city's economy now? No one is consuming anymore. The man said, this is a common phenomenon in shopping malls in China nowadays. They are empty. Look, this is the first floor. Look, this is the first floor below the mall. This is a common situation in shopping malls. In addition to shopping malls, store closures in Shanghai are also severe. A female restaurant owner expressed her dilemma. Do you know how difficult it is to transfer stores now? The transfer notice has been posted for a month. From the initial 100,000 yuan, it dropped to 80,000, 60,000, 50,000, and still no one accepted even 30,000 yuan. Now I've told the landlord that when the rent expires in February, I won't rent it anymore and will let him rent it directly. Today, I found a chef who buys second-hand kitchenware to come and take a look. Such a big display cabinet, such a big air conditioner, and such a big freezer. Pack them all together, and he offers me 1,500 yuan. Oops, I'm speechless now. These subway stations in Shanghai, which were once crowded, are now described as deserted, which is no exaggeration at all. In the past, we couldn't even transfer a shop like this for 300,000 yuan. The woman said that there are basically no people in places like commercial streets around subway stations, and they can't even sell snacks. This is Shanghai, a first-tier city. She said that it is really difficult to do business in physical stores in Shanghai this year. Moreover, the group of post-80s working people around her, who are about the same age as her, are also among those laid off by their companies. How difficult will it be for Shanghai this year? There are nearly 5 million foreigners here. Shanghai used to have 2.6 million permanent residents, but now the number is almost only 2,000. Sujiahui was once a high-profile area and a commercial center in Suhui District, Shanghai. The current scene is in stark contrast to the past. The woman said that the rent in this place used to be at least several million yuan, but now it is even more expensive, and it is estimated that no one will come to open a store. Most of the stores that can open here are big brands, and they are probably struggling. Now, even supermarkets in Shanghai have very few customers. China's economy has almost completely deteriorated, and this number is shocking. Shanghai's economic downturn has a lot to do with the withdrawal of foreign capital. Previously, as an international metropolis, Shanghai often saw foreigners. Now, not many foreigners. There were foreigners everywhere before, but there are fewer foreigners now. Only a small number of foreigners in the city, but there are no foreigners in the suburbs. This video shows that the foreign streets in Shanghai are deserted. Shanghai's Laowai Street used to be brightly lit and crowded with people, but now all the foreigners have left, and there is not a single foreigner to be seen. Today is the weekend, and there is no one on Laowai Street on weekend nights. The owner of a Shanghai factory expressed his frustration. The man said, given the current situation in two days, all of my processing factories, about 10 in total, will stop working, and there will be no work to do. At present, there are 217,000 pieces already in the warehouse, excluding the processing factories. I don't know if other businesses are doing well, but if this continues, all of my dozen or so factories will cease operations. There will be no work at all. A blogger explained why many outsiders left Shanghai and revealed a shocking fact. Two to three million people have left the city. I was chatting with a few friends in Shanghai today. They estimated that two to three million people have left Shanghai over the past two or three years. Why did these friends leave? They said it was because there was no work, so they had to return to their hometowns. Now even wealthy people in Shanghai have begun evacuating. The woman said, is Shanghai going to change? Many foreign companies have left, and the wealthy in Shanghai are selling their houses to cash out and fleeing the city. I've been in Shanghai for so many years, and this is the first time I've seen such a situation. She observed that this year, many houses have been mortgaged for loans. Is there some major development happening? Additionally, the real estate market has been continuously lowering interest rates recently. Did they know some insider information in advance? Are they preparing to leave Shanghai? This blogger noticed the same trend. Shanghai landlords are truly panicking and have started fleeing. Many people, especially those from other regions, are selling their houses in Shanghai and buying property elsewhere. This has become the choice for many. Some Shanghai residents waited until their children completed the college entrance exams before selling their houses and leaving. Others with younger children decided it wasn't worth staying, quickly sold their houses and ran away. Shanghai locals also discussed the employment situation with netizens from other provinces. This once-famous bakery, established 30 years ago, has now closed down as Shanghai's economy continues to decline. Even the economy of Shanghai, China's first-tier international metropolis, has deteriorated to such an extent, highlighting how weak China's economy has become. The employment situation in Shanghai is dire. A blogger recently spent two days in Shanghai and shared their grim observations. Let me tell you how tough the job market is this year. Even someone working at the Oriental Pearl Tower earns only 5,000 yuan a month. Finding a job in Shanghai has become increasingly challenging. Positions offering just 4,000 to 5,000 yuan monthly are in high demand, with college graduates struggling to secure employment. The blogger shared a striking example. A company advertising for a conference room attendant paying 4,000 to 5,000 yuan received over 500 resumes, including applications from undergraduates and even two master's degree holders. Now even master's degree holders in Shanghai can't find jobs. A heart-wrenching scene was described of an unemployed college graduate crying on the subway, expressing despair over the dire employment situation. Fresh graduates recount their struggles. A woman lamented, Can I still find a job in Shanghai this year? Boss Jipin is useless. Either they read my messages but don't reply, or they ignore my resume altogether. A man observed, Why does Shanghai's economy feel worse than that of second- or third-tier cities? Nearly everyone I know has been laid off in the past two years. Some haven't found a job for nearly two years and have gone back to their hometowns. Another woman, who interviewed for roles like director, operations and sales A.E., shared her frustration. Every company I interviewed with offered just 6,000 yuan before tax. After taxes, it's barely over 4,000 yuan. How can anyone survive in Shanghai on that? I used to think salaries here were at least 10,000 yuan a month. This is terrifying. Some college graduates unable to find jobs have turned to food delivery, but their stories of hardship are often heartbreaking. Xi Jinping's visit to Macau, another achievement project exposed as a failure, Hengchun Island like a ghost town. During his recent visit to Macau, Chinese leader Xi Jinping toured the Hengchun Guangdong Macau Deep Cooperation Zone, a development project he has been promoting. However, visitors to the area revealed that the economic zone resembles a ghost town. Since Xi Jinping came to power, many of his so-called achievement projects have been exposed as having been abandoned or left unfinished. Furthermore, under the CCP's continued crackdown in recent years, Macau's economy, especially its gaming industry, has suffered severe setbacks. On December 20th, Xi Jinping concluded his visit to Macau and returned to Beijing. According to his itinerary, he stayed in Macau from December 18th to 20th. During his visit, she attended the swearing-in ceremony of the 6th Macau government and inspected the Hengchun Guangdong Macau Deep Cooperation Zone, among other activities. According to Xinhua News Agency, on the morning of December 19th, she visited the Hengchun Guangdong Macau Deep Cooperation Zone and toured the exhibition titled Harmony Between Macau and Hengchun Exhibition on the Construction of the Hengchun Guangdong Macau Deep Cooperation Zone. The report noted that the development and construction of Hengchun has been a project that Xi Jinping personally planned, personally deployed, and personally promoted. The Hengchun Guangdong Macau Deep Cooperation Zone is located in the southern part of Zhuhai's Xiangzhu District, adjacent to Macau and the city of Zhuhai. It is jointly governed by Macau and Guangdong Province. The zone has a total population of 53,040 and controls the entire Hengchun Island. It began operating under a closed-loop system on March 1, 2024. Hengchun Island was announced for development in 2009 by then-Vice President Xi Jinping. The Hengchun New Area of Zhuhai was officially established as China's third national-level new area, with an initial investment of over 72.6 billion Chinese Yuan or about US$9.9 billion. Subsequently, there were also investments amounting to hundreds of billions of Yuan in supporting infrastructure, such as high-speed rail. According to Radio Free Asia, developing Hengchun has become one of Xi Jinping's major political achievements. As a project close to his heart, Xi has visited the area five times. Official data shows that Hengchun's development appears to be progressing well, but what is the reality? Recently, a real estate agent inspected several large residential estates at night and pointed out that the occupancy rate was only about 30 to 40 percent. Even the first integrated housing project for Macau residents, Macau New Neighborhood, which was originally intended to provide more than 4,000 units, was nearly empty with no visible lights on. It is estimated that the occupancy rate is less than 10 percent. The real estate agent then visited another residential development located near the border crossing and initially attracting many investors. Again, less than 10 percent of the units had their lights on. The commercial streets in the Central Exchange also showed sparse foot traffic. In a newer shopping mall, Innovation Square, half of the shops were closed and there was hardly any foot traffic in the afternoon. The restaurants had less than 10 percent occupancy. The person filming bluntly stated, This Innovation Square, aside from a few amusement rides, seems to have nothing else going for it. It's completely dark, like it's been shut down. After returning to Beijing, Xi Jinping's visit to Macau was lauded by state-run media. On December 21, The People's Daily published a commentary that claimed the 25 years since Macau's return to China marked the happiest period for local residents and hailed it as a huge success recognized worldwide. However, Macau's economic backbone, its gaming industry, has been severely impacted in recent years. The CCP has labeled the cross-border flow of capital for gambling as a national security risk and implemented a harsh crackdown on foreign gambling activities, leading to a deepening crisis in Macau's gaming sector. In July this year, the chairman of the Sun City Group, Alvin Chow, nicknamed Xiaomihua, was sentenced to 18 years in prison by the final court ruling. Furthermore, Chow and eight other defendants were fined up to HK$24.865 billion or about US$3.2 billion in penalties. Chow, known as Macau's little gambling king, had expanded his business empire beyond gaming, venturing into sectors such as finance, real estates, and films. His group's operations extended overseas, and he had become one of the wealthiest individuals in Hong Kong and Macau. He also held various public positions in the Macau government. After Chow's arrest, it triggered a quake in the Macau gaming intermediary industry, with many VIP gaming room groups scaling back their operations or planning to shut down. To date, the three wealthiest tycoons who came from Macau's VIP gaming sector, Chow, Chongling Lam, and Stanley Ho's son, Panzi Ho, have all fallen from power. According to Tsingtao Daily, a source revealed that Beijing launched a large-scale crackdown on Macau's six gambling halls, with Xi Jinping issuing six instructions. Commentator Yushan said that the arrests of Chow and others serve multiple purposes for the CCP leadership, cracking down on gambling money laundering, preventing capital outflows, pressuring Macau's gaming industry to hand over VIP customer lists to expose corrupt officials, targeting high-ranking officials who protect the gambling industry, and setting an example for common prosperity. Fundamentally, it is a case of black eating black, with Beijing using the crackdown to seize large sums of money, strengthen the party state coffers, and purging Macau's political, business, and gaming elites in the process. Ultimately, this move aims to bring Macau's casinos under the party's control.