Taiwanese businessmen fled in panic, stores shut down, and 5 million people abandoned Xiamen

Taiwanese businessmen fled, stores shut down, and 5 million people left. Xiamen became a ghost town. It's all covered in today's China Truths. The whole country has more than 1 billion people, and Xiamen must have over 5 million. But what about now? There are hardly any people on the streets, in malls, or in stores. I don't know where everyone has gone. Can any friends in Xiamen tell me what's going on? No one here. No one there. No one anywhere. After the passenger-carrying incident, Gulangyu really seems to have gone cold. I arrived at Ximeiwanda at 10.30 in the morning, thinking I could chat with a few business owners. But as soon as I entered, I didn't expect the entire mall to be empty. The shopping assistants were just standing around, bored, swatting flies. At 2 p.m., I went to the Tongan Aegean Sea Mall. It's a fairly new place, but the foot traffic was pitifully low. I really couldn't continue shopping, so I headed to Tongan City to take a look. Still, nothing. It felt like a wasted trip. China's economy continues to deteriorate, and every industry is in a slump. Countless factories, businesses, and physical stores have shut down. The same is true across the coastal cities that were once economically thriving. Due to the withdrawal of Taiwanese investors, Xiamen in Fujian Province has fallen into economic decline and population loss. It's reported that about 5 million people have left. Once-bustling commercial and residential areas have become lifeless. Life is hard, and many people have simply chosen to give up. Today, let's talk about the decline of Xiamen. No one. No one. Still no one. How did Zhengguoan end up like this? Rental and sublease ads are everywhere. Stores are closing one after another. We walked around and found that nearly one-third of the shops were shuttered. Zhengguoan used to be vibrant, full of homestays and popular street snacks. People from all over the country would come here to hang out. At its peak in 2019, it had nearly 120,000 visitors a day. But now, there's basically no one on the streets. Huliwanda used to be one of the most popular malls in Xiamen. Today is Thursday, and it's 6.45 p.m., dinnertime rush. Back in 2017 and 2018, the Golden Street area at Huliwanda was packed like a temple fair. But now, as you can see, there's no one around. This used to be a Vietnamese restaurant. That one is Xu Daxia, completely empty. My friend used to own this one here. It was called something like Drinks. I forget the name, but business was great back then. In 2017, 2018, and 2019, there were even lines outside. Now, on a Thursday night, there's barely anyone in Golden Street. It's nothing like before. It's not just a problem with individual stores or the mall's management. Xiamen's population has drastically shrunk, and there simply aren't enough people. Someone mentioned that Huliwanda was one of Xiamen's earliest malls, with heavy foot traffic in 2017 to 2019. I opened a store in Huliwanda back then, and business was booming. Customers came in nonstop. On weekends, we couldn't even keep up. At the time, it was nearly impossible to find a vacant shop in Wanda. No one would give up their space, no matter how high the transfer fee. Now, this whole row is closed. This one is Cosbelli. Brothers, this place used to be packed every single day. Not just weekends. Every day. You couldn't even queue. Now it's all shut down. This fat grandma used to be Joe Mapo. Now closed, too. This used to be Tan Yaxue Hot Pot, a massive store, but it's also shut down. Once a big place like this closes, it's very hard to rent out again. I don't get it. This is Sunday night. Is this really the current state of Zhenguan? Just a few years ago, it was crowded, full of energy, spanning several busy streets. Now you can walk the entire area in just one street. What's going on? I can't understand it. It used to be so lively. We always wanted to come back here. What happened? It doesn't even look familiar anymore. So many places are closed. What's going on? Why are there so few people? I really don't understand. Of course, there are still a lot of local delicacies, some specialties you can buy. I saw on the Internet that many stores in Kaitang Square had closed down. Today we went to check it out in person. From this view, it's obvious that the store closure rate may have reached over 90%. I can't believe this used to be such a busy shopping mall in my memory. In just one or two years, it's become like this, almost no foot traffic. Kaitang is quite central in Xiamen. There used to be more than 60,000 migrant workers living in Kaitang Village. But after the collective demolition of Kaitang in March 2021, the crowds disappeared. Although the village has been demolished, children from nearby schools still come here to play after class. I think that's the only sign of life left in Kaitang Square. This is haokalai. A lot of people must have visited this store back in the day. The only relatively large restaurant, Laoxiangqin, is still open. RT Mart is still operating as usual, but the foot traffic is definitely not what it used to be. Do you know how the current unemployment wave differs from the layoff wave in our parents' generation? Most unemployed people today are burdened with high debts, mortgages, car loans and a lot of credit card debt. They're confused about the future and unable to find work. This kind of invisible pressure is mentally torturing. But during our parents' layoff era, most families had no debts. As long as you were willing to set aside your pride and work, you could support your family. Now, if you're unemployed, even putting pride aside doesn't help. You can't even cover a fraction of your debt. So unemployment today is truly frightening. Don't you think so? You might not believe what's happening in Xiamen. Since the Chinese New Year, many people still haven't found a job. Some companies have even laid off more than half of their employees. In today's climate, if you delayed getting married, you've won. If you didn't buy a house three years ago, you've won. If you didn't start a business, you've also won. Basically, the people who have been lying flat these past few years have ended up winning. Those who tried to strive have lost and ended up deeply in debt. The beauty salon downstairs in our community has changed owners three times in a single year. There are for-sale and for-lease signs everywhere. Even people in our industry with over 10 years of experience have changed careers. I don't understand. Why is the economy this bad? Why can't any business succeed now? Do you know the reason? How did it come to this? Oh my God. Today is Sunday, and still no one is here. Many restaurants on the food floor have closed, and that entire row is now full of stalls. When a restaurant shuts down, the equipment is often sold at just 10% of its value, if you can even find a buyer. Tables and chairs, too, and you can't take the interior decor with you. Look here. Because this place closed early, the equipment couldn't be moved, and the mall won't let you take it out. In cases like this, the boss loses all the investment. If too much food was stored, it just spoils when the shop closes. Hi everyone. Welcome to Xiamen. We are now at the Sandship Outlets Commercial Plaza, across from Wutong Wharf. It's deserted here, with barely any customers. Only two buses come here, No. 6 and No. 82. I don't know why such a large commercial plaza was built in a place like this. Let's walk around and see what's on sale and whether it's lively. Let's go. Not bad. Many stores are offering discounts. 10%, 20%, even up to 40% off. The entire mall is beautifully decorated, but barely anyone is here. The blogger mentioned it's now easy to rent a place in Xiamen. In the past, housing near the airport was in short supply and impossible to rent. Now landlords are even reducing rents, which was unheard of before. I really have a feeling. Xiamen's population seems smaller this year. I already felt it last year in 2024, but this year it's just too obvious. I live in a village in the city on the island, and I don't feel like there are any people around. It's now the end of March, and April is almost here. Logically, those who have jobs lined up should have arrived by now. I don't know what the rental situation is like in your city, but here, it's like this. The unit next to me and the one across from me are both one-bedroom apartments. One has been empty since last summer vacation, vacant since September, and it's still empty now. From poverty alleviation to beauty pageant. Shocking inside story. China's high-priced Taiyuan Village soy milk and fried dough stick shops down to just four. Girl killed by Chinese rocket debris. Banned documentary Fallen from the Sky goes viral. Beijing continuously shows weakness to the U.S. and abandons wolf-warrior approach. It's all covered in today's China truths. Xiongnu New Area deserted. Millennium Plan turned into a joke? Publicly available information indicates that the Chinese authorities invested 664.1 billion yuan, approximately $93.56 billion USD, in the Xiongnu New Area, constructing a railway station, office buildings, residential areas, five-star hotels, schools, and hospitals on former cornfields. However, this so-called millennial project lacks the most crucial element, residents. On a workday in January 2024, Bloomberg found almost no one on the highways leading to Xiongnu New Area. The streets and the city center were lined with new government headquarters, office buildings, residential areas, and hotels, but there were few open shops and restaurants. Bloomberg suggests that the slow start of Xiongnu highlights the flaws in Xi Jinping's plan to attract the population from the capital, as Beijing is China's premier resource center. This resistance also exposes the limitations of Xi Jinping's personal power. It's not just the general public unwilling to move to Xiongnu, various institutions in Beijing are also resisting relocation. In late March of the previous year, Hebei province announced the relocation of four Beijing universities, Beijing University of Science and Technology, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing Jiadong University, and China University of Geosciences, Beijing, to Xiongnu New Area. However, these universities promptly denied the news unanimously on their official WeChat accounts, stating that Beijing and Xiongnu campuses were for one university, two campuses, coordinated development. Official media claimed that authorities planned to accelerate the construction of the first batch of relocation projects, promote the second batch involving central enterprises, universities, and hospitals, and concurrently study and plan the third batch of relocation projects. At that time, she warned, one cannot decide based on personal preferences. If one needs to move, one must move. We cannot have paper relocation or covert return ostensibly relocating but ending up back where it started. Nor can we increase relocation by establishing secondary units in Beijing. Political commentator Li Lini stated that Xi Jinping's words confirmed significant problems in the Xiongnu New Area relocation to the point where she seemed somewhat embarrassed and annoyed. The resistance, both internally and externally within the Chinese Communist Party, unprecedentedly exposes how unpopular this policy is. In the case of Xiongnu New Area, the entire political scene is now treating it as a joke directed at Xi. From poverty alleviation to beauty pageant, shocking inside story. In China, which claims socialism and equality as its ideals, there exists a highly unequal system known as the Special Supply System. TV producer Li Junzhong points out that this Special Supply System within the Chinese Communist Party traces back to as early as 1941. According to Xue Shan, a senior editor and chief writer at Epoch Times, the issue of special supplies has escalated. It's not confined to central leaders or prominent figures. Many government entities, from ministries to provincial and municipal offices, and even down to county-level governments, have established their own special supply centers. This phenomenon has become widespread. Lu Xiaochun, former deputy director of the Forestry Bureau in Junshan District, Yanyang City, Hunan Province, revealed on NTD Television's Elite Forum that special supplies have reached the grassroots government level. This is mainly due to security considerations, such as soil pollution and pesticide contamination. Local governments use rural poverty alleviation projects to exploit the situation. They specify certain crops to be grown, like rice or vegetables, or dedicate efforts to pig and poultry farming. These areas are the targets of poverty alleviation projects supported by funds from higher authorities. They use the pretext of precise poverty alleviation to engage in agricultural production. After growing these crops, they first use them themselves. Anything surplus is then sold in a poverty alleviation supermarket within the government office under the guise of poverty alleviation. The supermarket exclusively sells these organic agricultural products. Lu Xiaochun went on to reveal a startling inside story. The CCP has additional forms of special supplies. For instance, during the precision poverty alleviation process, if they find a young girl in a rural area who looks good, they facilitate connections for her. If leaders need someone like her, perhaps as a nanny or someone with a bit of education, they precisely coordinate with higher-ups. This is what they refer to as a talent platform. The potential expansion of employment might mean that these promising young individuals have all been exploited and negatively impacted within the precision poverty alleviation program. Veteran journalist Zhao Longjian mentioned on Elite Forum that there are unimaginable aspects that ordinary people might not be aware of, such as the increasing attention on special organ supplies in recent years. Epoch Times chief editor Guo Jun stated, When I was in Hong Kong, I knew that officials from Xinhua News Agency would provide special organ supplies to some wealthy individuals in Hong Kong to gain their support and loyalty to the CCP. This is why these wealthy individuals come out to support the CCP at critical times. Special organ supplies have consistently been provided to wealthy individuals in Hong Kong and some foreign dignitaries have been offered convenience. Please share your thoughts in the comments section below. We will keep reporting on the COVID surge in China, so don't forget to subscribe to our channel and turn on the notification bell to get the latest videos. And thank you for tuning in.