Empty Streets, Silent Shops: City of 8 Million Now a Ghost Town

Do you know what life is like for people earning over 10,000 yuan a month in Fuzhou? I've been handling business license registrations here for seven to eight years, and honestly, almost everyone is in debt now. Most people can't afford housing, marriage, kids, and getting sick is terrifying. Many women expect men to earn tens or even hundreds of thousands monthly. That's the influence of duyin and online illusions. But in reality, earning over 10,000 yuan already puts you ahead of 90% of people in Fuzhou. Young people need to face the truth. This is Yangqiao Road on a Saturday. Where is everyone? No more street life, no more spending? I rent a shop in Ximaosuangzhuang area for 25,000 yuan a month, and today, not a single customer came. Several nearby shops have closed and remained empty for half a year. Even the Yonghui supermarket across the street has shut down. I'm still holding on, but I feel lost. It's already 2025. Can traditional businesses still survive? Fuzhou, the capital of Fujian province, facing the Taiwan Strait to the east, once the starting point of the Maritime Silk Road in Chinese history, once played a significant role in the Belt and Road Initiative. But along with the decline of China's economy, this once highly anticipated coastal city has now become like an open wound, festering in plain sight. Today, let's talk about the story of Fuzhou. Closed doors everywhere. Closed, empty, closed again, empty again, empty, closed. This one's also closed. All of them are empty. Upstairs, even more deserted. Not a single person. No need to go up. It's all shuttered, bankrupt. This store is closed too. The row of factories behind me has gone bankrupt. My friend opened a supermarket here last year, thinking the area had a lot of workers and planning to cater to them. But now, with many factories shutting down, his business has plummeted as well. This vicious cycle of competition really has a chain effect. We're just too good at competing ourselves to death. The holidays are here. I'm about ready to run away for good. Guys, do you know how tough doing business has become in 2025? Even in a location like this, near a subway station, just look. This street used to be booming. But now, out of 10 shops, 9 have shut down. Look closely. Closed, closed, closed. I remember this store clearly. I once contacted the landlord to rent it for a restaurant, and they were asking over 10,000 yuan. Now? No one's even living here. And even at 2,000 yuan rent, there are still no takers. This year, the food and beverage industry has hit rock bottom. This whole row of shops is up for transfer. Out of 35 storefronts, only 5 are still operating. Last year, I came here to purchase equipment. There were still plenty of open businesses. Some even asked me to help install equipment. But tonight, coming back, I see nearly everything has shut down. Back then, rent here was around 5,000 to 6,000 yuan. Now it's down to 3,000 to 4,000, and still no one's renting. A lot of people are asking, What on earth has happened to Fuzhou in 2025? Shopping malls that used to be packed, streets once bustling with cars and people, shops with brightly displayed goods. Now they're deserted, plastered with for-rent and transfer signs. Even areas near subway stations are eerily empty. Right next to here are Metro Line 1 and Line 2 in Fuzhou. Look at Xiyi Hospital, a top-tier grade A hospital, such a prime location. But look at how many shops are shuttered. Even the pharmacies couldn't hold on. One pharmacy is still operating. But there are stores here that I believe have been closed for over a year. Has the economy really gotten this bad? Today, I passed by some restaurants near the entrance of Fuzhou First Hospital. Even small eateries like Shaw County Noodles or Shanggan Mixian have gone bankrupt. The Huaxinglou Hot Spring Bathhouse also shut down. The whole street is lined with failed businesses. The Jin Street area near Wanda Kangshan, which once ranked top three nationwide in revenue, I came here today and saw many stores have also closed down. This place used to be crowded with people. So what's the issue now? Is it sky-high rent? Or are people tightening their belts? Or maybe parking fees are too expensive? Many locals say that now in Fuzhou, delivery riders and gig workers are everywhere. The market is saturated. There are so few orders each day because in recent years the economy has been rough, many companies have gone bankrupt, and even former business owners are out delivering food and parcels to survive. Nowadays, finding a job in Fuzhou that pays on time is already considered lucky. There's also a harsh reality in Fuzhou that many find hard to believe. Some places haven't paid wages for months. Layoffs and pay cuts are happening everywhere. Many companies have just one person doing the work of two or three, and the pressure is overwhelming. People want to quit, but they're afraid they won't find another job, and losing their income completely is not an option, so they grit their teeth and endure it. Office buildings may look upscale from the outside, but inside, hardly any companies are still operating. This situation has been going on for a while, and people have gotten used to it. Right now in Fuzhou, since the beginning of the year, many people haven't been able to find a job. Some companies, just to survive, have laid off so many employees that only one person remains to keep basic operations running. In this current climate, those who are unmarried are considered lucky. Those who didn't buy a home three to four years ago are lucky. Those who didn't start a business are also lucky. Even people like us working in agency services can no longer stay afloat. Some can't even afford the fee to cancel their business licenses. Things are so bad, it makes you question your whole life. Honestly, I don't understand how the economy could get this bad. If housing prices continue to fall like this, many families in Fuzhou will collapse. Experts say that currently, at least one-fourth of households in Fuzhou are effectively bankrupt. Their debt far exceeds their actual assets. What that means is this. People who bought homes in Fuzhou in recent years at high prices may not have noticed. But something terrifying is happening. The number of homes being auctioned off due to unpaid debt is rising rapidly. I really can't take it anymore. In the end, I have to say goodbye. I don't want that house anymore. I've made up my mind. I'm leaving Fuzhou and going back to my hometown. I just can't shoulder this burden anymore. If things keep going like this, when will it end? I bought a house in Fuzhou for 1.2 million yuan, paying it off over 30 years with monthly installments of 6,500 yuan. A few years ago, I was earning more than 10,000 yuan a month, so I could still live comfortably after paying the mortgage. But since the Lunar New Year, working in finance, my income has become unstable. I have two young children and elderly family members to care for. I even thought about selling the house, but despite having it listed for two years, no one's been interested. The dismal state of Fuzhou's economy is just the tip of the iceberg in all of Fujian province. Recently, a major shoe factory with nearly 30 years of history, Zinda Shoes, had been publicly calling on locals to invest for a long time. Then suddenly, the owner vanished, throwing the village into chaos. Hundreds of people stormed the company and local government offices demanding their money back, but no news came. Some villagers revealed that the total amount involved might reach up to 400 million yuan. A villager surnamed Wang told overseas Chinese-language media that in his village, around 80% of residents had put all their savings into Zinda Shoes. Some invested tens of thousands, others several million, and some even over 10 million yuan. He himself invested 1.1 million. People did this because Zinda was a large enterprise, nearly three decades old, and had built a strong reputation locally. It was a big company offering high interest rates, and since everyone knew each other, they trusted it. But no one expected that someone so familiar could just disappear overnight. After the news of the owner's disappearance, people panicked, crowding the factory gates for several days, demanding repayment. All in vain. Many have spoken out in pain that money was their blood, sweat, and tears. Some saved it from years of labor. Some had put in their entire retirement funds. And now it's all vanished like smoke. In reality, due to the impact of the U.S.-China trade war, many Chinese export businesses, especially those exporting to the U.S., have fallen into crisis. Countless companies have shut down or gone bankrupt, and many businesses in Fujian haven't been spared. You see, just yesterday a company was still running normally. And today you show up and it's closed, the boss has disappeared. When factories start delaying workers' wages, everyone should be on alert. These bosses could go bankrupt at any time. If that happens, you won't even be able to collect your wages. Business is extremely difficult these days. Many bosses have no orders, or if they do, the profits are minimal. They're barely hanging on. One problematic order could cause heavy losses. That's why everyone needs to face the harsh reality. China's stock market fell sharply on Wednesday, dispelling the optimism of retail investors in recent days. At the same time, the World Bank issued a warning about the outlook for China's economy. So can the official stimulus policy continue the strong performance of the stock market in the previous round? And what risks are the large number of people who have poured into the stock market facing now? The Chinese government has successively introduced economic stimulus policies, and retail investors have flocked to the stock market. But in the speculative boom, stock market turmoil and uncertainty about policy stimulus may cause retail investors to become leaks again. World Bank lowers China's economic growth forecast. According to Bloomberg, the World Bank warned on October 8th that China's economic growth is expected to slow further in 2025. At the same time, given the changes in global trade and investment flows and the increase in policy uncertainty, China's economic downturn may put additional pressure on economies in East Asia and the Pacific. Although the Chinese government has recently launched a series of stimulus measures in an effort to boost the economy. In the short term, the World Bank said in its semi-annual economic outlook report that China's economic growth rate is expected to decline from about 4.8% this year to 4.3% next year. Speculative enthusiasm and market risks coexist. After the National Day holiday, China's A-share market continued its strong performance for five consecutive days before the holiday and continued to rise on the first trading day after the holiday. According to the Shanghai Securities News, due to active trading, many brokerages resumed work ahead of schedule to cope with the post-holiday investor entry boom. Foreign institutions such as Citi have also released research reports optimistic about the prospects of the Chinese stock market. According to the British Broadcasting Corporation, BBC, the U.S. investment bank Goldman Sachs released a research report entitled If You Don't Buy Now, When Will You? 10 Reasons to Buy Chinese Stocks on October 7th Goldman Sachs believes that since September 24th, the Chinese government's policy response has been different from the past and investors have generally received the support they expected. In addition, the People's Bank of China has also injected liquidity into the stock market unprecedentedly. Looking back at this round of stock market fluctuations, since September 24th, the Chinese government has announced more than 10 key policies covering monetary easing, fiscal stimulus, real estate market support, and stock market stimulus measures. Goldman Sachs believes that these policies are milestones in scale, breadth, and comprehensiveness, and can be compared with the $4 trillion stimulus plan during Wen Jiabao's period in 2008, the loose policy when Draghi took office as president of the European Central Bank in 2012, and the A-share rescue plan in 2015. Goldman Sachs also believes that there may still be a lot of room for the rise of the Chinese stock market. However, the market's optimistic expectations are not unreserved. Some American bank analysts warned that the buy-everything stage of the Chinese stock market may end soon. Market momentum, fiscal support, profit changes, the U.S. election, and future policy trends will all affect the prospects of the Chinese market. At the same time, consumer stocks, real estate stocks, and brokerage stocks may face the risk of profit-taking, while large-cap Internet companies and high-yield state-owned enterprises are still relatively stable investment targets. Driven by policy incentives and market enthusiasm, many Chinese stock investors even sold their cars and houses to heavily invest in A-shares. So, does this leveraged strategy truly reflect investors' confidence in the Chinese stock market? Our station recently launched an opinion collection activity on the status of the Chinese stock market through the international social media platform X. Some netizens said, Those who rushed in after the holiday have been buried. This time it is definitely not cutting leaks. Please rest assured. This time it is digging leaks' roots. Another netizen joked, Leaks need to be pulled up and helped to grow, so that it is pleasant to cut. In addition, some more cautious investors are wary of the excessive optimism of the Chinese stock market. Mr. Zhao, a Shanghai stock investor who requested anonymity for security reasons, said that in the new round of the A-share market, we must pay attention to risks and strictly control positions. This is like snatching food from the tiger's mouth. It's really not easy to snatch money from the country. This surge is almost crazy. I think the country's economic policies are very good, but I don't know how it will end this time. No one knows whether the economy is so weak and whether the medicine will be too strong. He said, For me, of course I hope it will rise, because the stocks I invested in before have not recovered. But I am a little worried, especially the day after the holiday. Everyone thinks it may fall. But the country definitely hopes for a slow bull market, and I don't know how strong it will be. Mr. Zhao said that he would not easily take advantage of this wave of the market to continue to increase his position, because he had not recovered his losses before.