The Economics Behind the Ruins: Understanding China’s “Lost Decade” Through 30 Abandoned Amusement Parks
Hello everyone, I’m your financial journalist. Today, we’re not talking about the financial reports of a listed company or the interpretation of some macroeconomic policy, but rather a series of photographs taken by photographer Zhou Chengzhou—“Flowing Gardens.”
Over the past five years, this photographer has traveled to more than thirty towns across China, capturing images of over thirty abandoned amusement parks. The Ferris wheels are covered in rust, the rollercoasters lie motionless, the shopping malls are empty, and some people even keep horses or dance in the ruins.
Many people’s first reaction to these photos is nostalgia or curiosity. But in my eyes, these abandoned amusement parks are actually the most truthful “autopsies” of China’s economic transformation period. They serve as giant specimens, preserving all the secrets of China’s urban expansion, the bursting of the consumer bubble, and the changes in its population structure during the 2010s.
Today, we’ll break down the economic logic behind this phenomenon into five key aspects, using simple language to understand what these “abandoned childhoods” are telling us.
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1. The Cost of “Face Projects”: When GDP Ambition Collides with Realistic Constraints
First, we need to understand why so many amusement parks were built. Around 2010 to 2015, many second- and third-tier cities, even county towns in China, experienced a wave of “infrastructure mania.” Local governments and developers shared a common belief: as long as we built iconic landmarks, people would come, and money would follow.
Amusement parks, especially those with large Ferris wheels and rollercoasters, were typical examples of “face projects.” They were costly—often costing hundreds of millions of yuan—but the decision-makers often overlooked a crucial question: where would the visitors come from?
The article mentions the Kaixuan Park in Wuqing, Tianjin, surrounded by tall buildings, yet with few lights on at night. This indicates a situation where there are houses but no people. Developers built the buildings, and the government built the parks, but there was not enough population density or purchasing power to support them.
It’s like trying to fit a stadium that can accommodate 100,000 people into a small village of just 1,000 residents. The result? The construction was grand, but the opening was deserted. Many of these amusement parks failed not because of poor management but because they were doomed to be ineffective investments from the very beginning. They consumed vast amounts of social resources without generating corresponding economic returns, eventually becoming piles of expensive scrap metal.
Economic Lesson: Economic growth should not be measured solely by what is built; it’s also about what is actually used. Large-scale construction that doesn’t meet real needs only leaves behind debt and ruins.
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2. Declining Consumption and the Failure of the “Lipstick Effect”: Why Do People No Longer Visit Amusement Parks?
The second aspect we need to consider is the change in consumer behavior. The article mentions the indoor amusement park in the Baolong Plaza in Qingdao, which was once crowded but is now empty, with only elderly women dancing in the square. This reflects a dramatic shift in consumption patterns.
Around 2015, China’s middle class began to emerge, and people had more disposable income, willing to spend on experiences like visiting amusement parks, watching movies, and shopping. Amusement parks were a symbol of social status and a common part of daily life.
However, after 2018, especially during the pandemic, people’s wallets tightened, and their attitudes changed:
- Consumption became more rational: Spending 200 yuan on a ticket for a rollercoaster ride no longer seemed worth it. People preferred free parks, green spaces, or just using their phones at home.
- Fragmented Entertainment: Short videos, games, and live streaming provided cheaper and more exciting forms of entertainment, squeezing the space for large-scale offline venues. It’s hard to imagine a young person taking a two-hour subway ride to an abandoned amusement park when they could just stay at home and watch videos on their phones.
- The “Lipstick Effect” Didn’t Work: In economics, there’s the “lipstick effect”—during economic downturns, people buy cheap luxury items to comfort themselves. But amusement parks, with their high prices and low frequency of use, were not considered necessities or affordable pleasures, so they were the first to be cut back.
Economic Lesson: When economic growth slows, non-essential, high-priced experiential consumption declines first. Business models that rely on impulsive spending and following trends are particularly vulnerable to risks.
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3. Unfinished Buildings and Broken Capital Chains: The Secondary Damage of the Real Estate Retreat
An especially poignant detail in the article comes from Shenyang, where locals pointed to the abandoned amusement park and said, “The funding dried up, so the park was left behind.” This reveals another core reason for the abandonment: amusement parks are often part of larger real estate projects. Developers built shopping malls and parks to attract visitors and boost housing and shop sales.
But when the real estate market declined and developers’ capital chains broke, these non-core assets were the first to be sacrificed:
- Shopping Malls Were Empty: Without visitors, shops couldn’t be rented, and the malls became empty.
- Amusement Parks Were Abandoned: Without customers, maintenance costs were too high, so they were simply closed.
- Houses Were Left Unfinished: Construction stopped halfway, leaving behind unfinished buildings.
This creates a vicious cycle: houses couldn’t be sold → capital dried up → commercial facilities (like amusement parks) shut down → fewer visitors → even fewer houses sold.
The elderly man in Jinan, who lost his promised new house and his job as a gatekeeper, represents the direct consequences of the real estate bubble bursting. Amusement parks are not just entertainment venues; they are also a barometer of the entire real estate ecosystem. When the real estate sector fails, related industries suffer.
Economic Lesson: In a real estate-driven economy, industries like culture and tourism are extremely fragile. Problems in the real estate sector inevitably affect related industries, creating high risks in this bundled development model.
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4. Population Mobility and “Hollowing Out”: Who Is Leaving, and Who Is Remaining?
The third aspect focuses on the movement of people. Many amusement parks are located on the outskirts of towns or near industrial areas, surrounded by dark buildings at night, reflecting the trend of urban “hollowing out.”
- Young People Are Leaving: Young people move to cities with better job opportunities and entertainment options. If a town’s amusement parks are abandoned, it indicates a loss of appeal.
- The Elderly Are Remaining: The elderly who dance in empty malls or keep horses in the ruins are the “left-behind” population. They don’t want to avoid amusement parks; they simply have no other choices or the means to do so.
- Consumption Gap: Amusement parks rely on families with purchasing power. When young parents leave with their children, the elderly and children left behind have little demand for such facilities. As a result, only sand and wind remain under the Ferris wheels, and horses graze beside the abandoned rollercoasters.
This imbalance in population structure is a deeper problem than just a lack of funding. Without a young population, there’s no future consumer base, and high-end or mid-range entertainment facilities are doomed.
Economic Lesson: A city’s vitality depends on the number of people willing to live and work there. Population loss is an early sign of economic decline, and abandoned amusement parks are a clear visual manifestation of this.
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5. The Aesthetics of Ruins and Collective Memory: Why Are We So Fascinated by Abandoned Sites?
Finally, let’s discuss a more emotional but equally important economic phenomenon: why are we (including photographers, bloggers, and tourists) so fascinated by these abandoned amusement parks?
The article mentions that many people visit them for adventure, photography, or as “internet-famous” attractions. This reflects a projection of collective memory:
- **Nostalgia for a “Lost Decade”: These parks were built around 2010, during China’s rapid urbanization and optimism about the future. Seeing them abandoned is like witnessing the end of that era of rapid progress. We miss not just the parks but also the era of belief in a better tomorrow.
- Superrealistic Beauty: The rusted Ferris wheels, overgrown grass, and other elements create a post-apocalyptic aesthetic that contrasts with the mundane reality. In the ruins, people can temporarily escape the stresses of daily life and enter a dreamlike state.
- Identity Search: For those born in the 1980s and 1990s, amusement parks are symbols of childhood. When childhood becomes ruins, people record and photograph them to affirm their existence and happiness. This is a form of psychological compensation.
From an economic perspective, “ruins tourism” has become a new form of consumption. Ironically, we’re consuming the state of abandonment itself, not just the entertainment it once provided. This indicates that the traditional entertainment economy has faded, replaced by a more complex, reflective form of cultural consumption.
Economic Lesson: When material wealth reaches a certain level, people seek spiritual meaning and experiences. However, the popularity of “ruins aesthetics” also reflects societal anxiety and uncertainty about the future. It’s a form of defensive nostalgia.
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Conclusion: Ruins Are Not the End, but a Mirror
The abandoned amusement parks captured by Zhou Chengzhou are not just physical landmarks; they are scars from China’s economic transformation:
- They document the lessons of overinvestment.
- They reflect the reality of declining consumption.
- They expose the risks of real estate dependence.
- They reveal the harsh realities of population mobility.
- They reflect the loss of collective memory.
In the future, these ruins may be turned into parks, demolished and rebuilt, or left to be buried by sand. Regardless, they serve as a reminder:
-Economic growth cannot rely solely on concrete structures; it depends on people’s happiness and sustainable demand.
When the Ferris wheels stop turning, we should ask: what caused their halt? And who is searching for new directions in these ruins?
I hope that the next time we pass by a city, we’ll see not abandoned amusement parks but vibrant life.