China Feels Empty! Where Has Everyone Gone? Cities, Villages, and Malls Are All Empty

Taiwan has a population of 5 million, but its streets are deserted, its shops are empty, even its subway stations are quiet. Where has everyone gone? While commercial real estate is booming in China, the number of people in shopping malls is declining. Whether in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, or second and third tier cities, many malls are teetering on the brink of collapse. Four and five-story buildings have very few shops still open. China has a population of 1.4 billion, yet Fuzhou, with over 8 million people, has deserted streets and empty shops. This is Zhongting Street past 9 p.m. Who could possibly stand it? Where have all the people gone? China has a population of 1.4 billion, and Ningbo has 9.7 million, yet the streets and shops are empty. Where have all the people gone? Have we all taken the wrong path? This year's business makes me feel like my shop is on an isolated island. At 10 p.m., the entire airport is deserted. Is it just that I came at the wrong time, or are fewer people flying? Hey guys, is this really Saturday? There isn't even a car on Friendship Road. Harbin has felt deserted for two days now. It's truly scary. It's around 4 or 5 p.m. The biggest mystery of 2025. Where has everyone gone? Didn't Hefei have a population of 10 million? Where are they now? There's no one on the streets, in shopping malls, or even in restaurants. Even the vegetable vendor behind me said, there's no one. Where have all those people gone? It's truly strange. Have you noticed this strange phenomenon? There are fewer and fewer people on the streets these days. Where have they gone? Has Beijing Daxing Airport become deserted too? At 4 or 5 p.m., there are so few people. Maybe there just aren't flights at this time. Wandering around Changde Pedestrian Street, it's empty whether it's raining, sunny, or overcast. I don't even know when people come anymore. Look, this is the center of the street, and so many stores have closed. How can brick-and-mortar businesses survive now? The number of outsiders in Shanghai is dwindling. The city feels deserted. It used to be bustling with people. So what happened? Where has everyone gone? Maybe people just don't want to come here anymore. Qingdao's most popular restaurant street is deserted at 6.30 p.m., which shows how bleak business is. With such high rents, what are the shop owners supposed to do? Brick-and-mortar stores are closing en masse. This is near Guangqian Street in Suzhou. There's not a soul around. Every shop is shuttered, and the whole area feels desolate. The current situation in Xiamen is absolutely shocking. Those millions of people mentioned in the statistics seem to have vanished into thin air. Business owners are crying out as the streets remain deserted, and countless mom-and-pop shops are struggling to survive. But the customers simply haven't come. They're nowhere to be found. People on the island say there's no one, and those outside say there are significantly fewer people than last year. Driving onto the island during peak hours is noticeably less congested. Is business difficult? Just look at Guangzhou Bayun Airport. I've taken so many flights, and I've never seen it this empty. Look, there's no one around. Just a few scattered figures, with more staff than passengers. At Shanghai Hongqiao Airport, the moment I walked in, I was completely stunned. Sisters, is your store empty too? Ours is, and the street is empty as well. I feel strangely calm. It's the first time in my life I've seen an airport completely empty. When an airport is this deserted, it feels like it's been shut down. Many videos online show deserted malls, empty restaurants, supermarkets, shops, and even office buildings. Cities that once bustled with life now seem abandoned. Some believe the vanishing crowds are due to the economic downturn, rising living costs in big cities, and the return of migrant workers to their hometowns. But even rural areas are emptying out. Towns and villages are quiet, with mostly elderly and children left behind. A shop I bought for 5 million yuan now can't even sell for 200,000. Once crowded streets and prime intersections are empty, with shopfronts shut down. In 2018, people lined up at night to buy these properties. Now no one is renting. This is a nightmare for countless families who invested everything. This is real estate in China, sitting idle, generating nothing. It's a tragic story that even films wouldn't dare tell. If you're interested in buying a store, hold your wallet tight. Physical stores, especially women's clothing shops, are struggling. Since June, business has plunged. Streets are empty, shops are deserted, and no one knows why. People talk about a global downturn, but don't we still need clothes? At 10.37 p.m., I saw Shanghai Hongqiao Airport nearly empty. It was shocking. I've never seen an airport like this. I've been home for three months now, trying to start over, but the streets are just as empty. At 4 or 5 p.m., no one is around. Many stores are closed or for lease. Even on holidays like the Dragon Boat Festival, old busy streets are quiet. Shanghai Pudong Airport's duty-free zone, once packed, is now empty past 9 p.m. It used to be so crowded you couldn't even check out. Where have all the people gone? The streets are deserted. I visited a mall, and I was the only customer on the entire floor. Rental apartments and stores sit vacant. Some say hospitals and markets are crowded, but elsewhere, malls and streets are eerily quiet. Brick and mortar businesses are struggling everywhere. What's business like in your area? Shenzhen, with nearly 20 million people, feels deserted. The swimming pools are empty, Dongmen shopping streets are quiet, and even the subway, once too crowded to enter, now has no lines. The silence is surreal. Aren't there 1.4 billion people in China? Why do cities feel shut down? Have people returned to the countryside, or are they just staying indoors? Selling my house in Shenzhen and going back home was the worst decision I ever made. I thought I'd earn over 3 million yuan and build a peaceful life for 400,000 in my hometown. But within 6 months, I regretted it. Rural life is not what we imagined. Young people are gone, the nights are dark, and the liveliness of Shenzhen is just a memory. At first, it felt refreshing, but then came the heat, the silence, and sleepless nights full of mosquitoes. Many videos online show deserted malls, empty restaurants, supermarkets, shops, and even office buildings. Cities that once bustled with life now seem abandoned. My husband and I are living off the land, unemployed, and our spending habits haven't changed. We still shop online frequently. If we keep this up, our savings won't last long. You ask me why I'd go back to the countryside. I'm already in the countryside. Let me show you. Look, this is the countryside. There's not a soul in sight. You say the city is full of traps, but at least it has the human touch. The countryside, though vast, is devoid of even a single soul. You say my enthusiasm is futile. But what can I do in the countryside? What can I really do? I used to live in Guangzhou, but in recent years, I've noticed a significant decrease in the number of outsiders. Perhaps this is true of many big cities. I used to think everyone was returning to their hometowns to develop them. But after coming back, I realized the countryside is empty too. Those who remain are mostly elderly. Although rural houses are getting better and roads are getting wider, the population is dwindling. I can't help but wonder, where have all the people gone? Walking through rural streets these days, I see house-for-rent signs everywhere. My neighbor built a three-story house two years ago for hundreds of thousands of yuan, but it's been vacant for over a year. In another 20 years, most rural areas might be left with only empty houses. As for rural revitalization, without young people, I really don't know how to make it happen. How many households are left in your village now? There are fewer than 50 households in ours, and even on my street, there are fewer than 10. You see, our countryside is still beautiful. Dirt roads connect every household, making transportation quite convenient. But even during the Lunar New Year holiday, the roads are empty. There are many houses, but few people. My daughter is nine years old. Since she was born, there haven't been any other newborns in the village. What a terrible thing. The economy is collapsing, morals are fading, and food theft is now a daily routine. As China's economy continues to decline, life has become harder than ever for ordinary people. The sense of shame is gradually fading. When morality no longer restrains behavior, people can easily fall into theft. Look closely at the girl in the video. She seems to be attentively searching for her order, but in reality, she's selecting the meal she wants to steal. Some people leave their motorbikes for just a few seconds, only to return and find that their food has been stolen. Two meals gone in a flash. Sometimes, because they forgot to turn on the camera, they couldn't record the moment the food disappeared. It's only when they reach the customer's building that they realize the order is missing, leaving them utterly demoralized. In one case, right after a delivery rider stepped away from his bike, another rider swiftly approached, expertly opened the delivery bag, and took out a meal. It's not just individual theft anymore. There are now cases of organized group theft. One person scouts ahead, and another rides in on a motorbike to coordinate the heist. The thief isn't always a passerby. It could even be a fellow delivery worker. Are you starving, or just lacking something else? Now, society is full of this kind of lawlessness. If society is like this, then fine. You can steal from shops, but you can't steal from delivery riders. Do you know how much we make per order? Just 3.5 yuan. If you steal one meal, we lose tens of yuan. We still have parents and kids to support. One order earns just 3.5 yuan. Each delivery pays only 3.5 yuan, and we still have to climb stairs. Fifth floor, sixth floor. You really can't do this? Then give it back to me. Return it to me. I'm sorry. There are even more outrageous cases. An office worker was caught stealing someone else's food, got fired, and yet showed no remorse. The next day, she brought her parents to the company and caused a huge scene. According to the person who filmed the video, the incident occurred around 10 a.m. The little fairy barged into the company president's office with her older brother. Sensing trouble, the president immediately called in six security guards and two legal affairs officers. What's worth noting is that the girl didn't mention stealing food. Instead, she claimed she had taken the meal by mistake, thinking it was hers, even though she hadn't placed any order that day. As for the spilled coffee, she said it was an accident. But everyone knew the truth since the office had surveillance cameras. This time, when she came to the company, she made two demands. First, that her co-worker apologize for falsely accusing her and compensate her for emotional and reputational damage. Second, that the company compensate her for wrongful dismissal. But the president firmly refused and declared, if this chaos continues, the company would immediately report her to the police for crimes such as theft, destruction of company property, defamation, and disturbing public order, any one of which would be enough to warrant detention. When she realized she couldn't get her way, the little fairy put on a full-blown act, complete with supporting actors. She played the female lead while her parents were the featured co-stars. She screamed and cried like a soprano, her father collapsed on the floor claiming to feel unwell, and her mother even tried to jump out the window. But here came the farce. The office windows were electronically sealed due to the heat, so they were tightly shut. Her mother struggled to open one and finally managed to crack it slightly. She tried to lift her leg up to climb out but got stuck in the window frame, unable to go up or down. The scene was total chaos, the daughter wailing, the father collapsed, and the mother frozen mid-jump, one leg dangling from the window. There's a video showing a delivery rider dropping off an order. Not long after he leaves, another rider comes along and casually steals the freshly delivered meal. Unbelievable! Delivery riders nowadays aren't just delivering food, they're stealing each other's orders too. At first, a man delivered a green bag. Then, he seemed to call someone and noticed a table with several meals on it. He picked up a bowl of porridge ordered by one of our colleagues, looked up to check for surveillance cameras, and walked away with it. We started investigating to see whose order was in the green bag and tracked down the original delivery rider. Eventually, we found out the food was meant for an employee in the neighboring building, but the rider either took it by mistake or on purpose. This delivery guy not only stole food, but also delivered the wrong order. Absolutely absurd! What kind of hiring standards do these delivery apps even have? It's not just people. Now, even dogs and cats are stealing food. Hungry, they catch a whiff of something delicious and swoop in. Baguette sponge cake. Smells amazing. Oh man, it's heavy. Hope no one sees me. A few days ago, a streamer wanted a healthy breakfast and ordered delivery. The rider called and said the food was left in the yard. A few minutes later, the streamer went down and found nothing. Furious, assuming someone had stolen it. But when he checked the camera, he saw an adorable little dog walking off with his meal in its mouth, happily wagging its tail. A few steps later, the white dog couldn't resist the smell of the sponge cake, sat down, and started gobbling it up right there. To be fair, it did leave the streamer two pieces. The streamer told his followers that next time he caught the little thief, he'd teach it a lesson it'd never forget. And sure enough, a week later, he spotted it again. As soon as it saw him, the dog had a clearly guilty look on its face. The streamer showed it the video of it stealing food, and the dog immediately rolled onto its back, belly up, pretending to be cute, avoiding eye contact like it was saying, I was wrong. I was so upset I had to share this. That day, I ordered two meals, which arrived just minutes apart. The first rider called, but I was busy, so I asked him to leave the food at my door. When I went out a few minutes later, only one meal was there. I was confused. Who would steal a meal in a residential area? It wasn't even expensive. The last time something like this happened was back in my college dorm, where food theft was common. But in a residential neighborhood, it felt unacceptable. I contacted the first rider, who confirmed he had dropped off the food. Then I checked the second rider's delivery photo. My first meal was already missing. Suspicious, I went to the building's security office to check the CCTV footage. There was a blind spot, but when the second rider came down, he was holding a bag that looked like my missing meal. It didn't make sense. Why take anything back down? I called him, trying to stay calm. I asked if he took anything by mistake. He said no. I asked how many bags he brought up. He said one. Then I asked why he had two when coming down. He started stammering and couldn't answer. Something was clearly wrong. At that moment, I was still in the security office. The guard couldn't hold back and said, the camera clearly shows his face and what he did. If he won't admit it, we'll call the police. Still, the delivery guy wouldn't confess. I was angry but also afraid of revenge, so I just asked him to pay for the meal and told him, don't do things like this again. Honestly, it's really disturbing. These people know where you live, so even when you're standing up for your rights, you're scared of retaliation. There are even more cunning cases. Without surveillance cameras, they'd be almost impossible to detect. A video blogger shared, I've seen people steal food deliveries before, but this was the first time I caught an L.E.M.E. rider doing it. I ordered a K-22 milkshake. The rider pretended to deliver it, took a photo to mark it as completed, then took the drink back. Once the order's marked complete, it legally belongs to the customer. Taking it is theft, plain and simple. Thankfully, my smart lock camera recorded everything. Without that footage, I'd have no proof. What's happening to this society? People like this are everywhere now, and to those who steal food, if you think the address is too far, don't accept the order. Don't steal other people's meals. If you're hungry, just say so. I'll give you something to eat, but don't take it and fail to deliver, then pass the order to another driver. My two surveillance cameras couldn't even catch you. Seriously? Didn't an order get stolen last time too? That's why this time I specially bought a large locked container and a small padlock. This way, when I step away to deliver, I can lock it up, so the next order will be safe when I return. I'm off to deliver now, locked and super secure. I'll be back soon. I'm back. Whose bike is this? Oh, it's mine. In today's China, hunger and hardship are no longer distant fears. They're daily realities. Millions are out of work, savings are vanishing, and hope is wearing thin. With every factory that shuts down, another family falls into crisis. Desperation is quietly spreading, pushing ordinary people toward unthinkable choices. Theft, scams, and petty crimes are no longer rare. They're becoming routine. When survival is at stake, morals blur and society begins to fracture. This isn't just an economic downturn, it's a human unraveling in real time. What we're witnessing is not just poverty, but the breakdown of trust and dignity. And in the silence of censorship, these quiet tragedies multiply, unseen.