China has built hundreds of new cities over the last three decades as it reshapes itself into an urbanized nation with a plan to move 250 million rural inhabitants—more than six times the population of California—into cities by 2026. These cities are known as ghost cities have a eerie, surreal, but oddly fascinating feel to them. Billions of people worldwide are forced to live in slums, for example, in New Delhi, India residents of slums attempt to take a relative’s name (fake death certificates) in order to claim land to plant food on the size of tennis field to provide for their families. 2,300 miles north there are these ‘billionaire art project Apocalypse cities’. It’s hard to see an optimistic future, even with the godlike technology. Hedge yourself, family and friends, the space tours, the unlimited lifespans and other elitists goals are soon to be interrupted. There is a monumental need for correction in just about everything. Off-grid, traditional sustainable ways can help you escape what is to come.
Photographs by Kai Caemmerer of Chicago.
Yujiapu Financial District, Binhai Nre Rea, Tianjin (suburb of Beijing)
A design rendering at a construction zone near Meixi Lake Development, Chengsha
Near Yujiapu Financial District, Binhai New Area, Tianjin
Palm trees surround a construction area near Yujiapu Financial District, Binhai New Area, Tianjin
Near Kangbashi New Area, Ordos, Inner Mongolia
An abstract sculpture frames a construction project near Meixi Lake Development, Changsha, Hunan province
Residential buildings in the Meixi Lake Development, near Changsha
Uncompleted residential buildings in the Meixi Lake Development, near Changsha
A portion of Yujiapu Financial District’s skyline in the hazy light of day. The district is part of Binhai New Area, Tianjin
LCD screens on a building glow near Kangbashi New Area, Ordos, Inner Mongolia
