Nine Out of Ten Homes in Northeast China Are Empty Over 11 Million People Gone

Hey brothers, is today Saturday? There isn't a single car on this road. I have noticed for the past two days that Harbin has been completely empty, without a single car. It's truly frightening. I told you before that this village was desolate, but you wouldn't believe me. Everyone, look at this. The temperature is now below minus 30 degrees Celsius. And look over there. There isn't a single plume of smoke rising, not one. This village has already become deserted. The northeast region has now become desolate. Northeast China was once the backbone of China's industry. The oil fields of Daqing Oil Field, the steel industry of Anshan, and the automobile industry of Chengchun once created a glorious era. But that glory faded long ago. Today in many cities and villages, a different and painful scene is unfolding. Nine out of ten villages are deserted. And some villages even have only a single resident left. Some netizens bluntly say that the current situation in the northeast is the future of the entire country. Today, let's take a look at the current situation in Rural Heilongjiang. Look at this road. There isn't a single person in sight. Where has everyone gone? In previous years, this place was very lively. Let's go over there and circle around the gate a few times to see what the entrance looks like. Turn back. The gate area is truly desolate. There is no one here, no one on this main road, and no one trapped anywhere. These beautiful houses have no residents. Everyone has already moved away. Just let the grass grow in the courtyard. There's no one here anymore. Oh my god, Chengchun, turn left here. Why is there no one here? Oh my god. The gate is covered with golden paper offerings. The place is completely deserted and closed down. We don't even know what these signs used to say anymore. There is no one left here. This place has already been destroyed. It used to be very famous. Some people say that people from northeast China are becoming more numerous across the country, but fewer in the northeast itself. That's right. The total population of the three northeastern provinces is now more than 11 million, lower than it was 10 years ago. In fact, we don't even need to look at the statistics. Just listen to the streets and alleys in southern China. Everywhere you hear the northeast accent, everywhere you see people from the northeast. Then you will understand how many people the region has exported in recent years. Among the 36 cities and regions in the northeast, apart from Chengchun, Shen Yun and Harbin, well, the other 33 cities have continuously recorded negative population growth. The blogger said that everyone knows the winters in northeast China are unusually cold. Therefore, any northeastern resident with a bit of financial means likes to flock to Sanya during the winter. Sanya has almost become the second hometown of northeasterners, and they have indeed driven local development, excluding those who have settled there permanently. The number of northeastern visitors to Sanya through JD.com each year reaches about 1 million. It can be said that northeasterners have made a significant contribution to Sanya. But back in the northeast, if we don't provide food, what can ordinary people do? At present, most ordinary people in the northeast are unemployed and have turned to food delivery work. Recently, I even saw men and women in their 50s and 60s, people who already look quite old, doing delivery jobs. There is really nothing interesting left in the northeast. No entertainment venues, no resources, no tourism. So what can people do? Sadly, there is not much work available. Some newly married couples think about opening a small shop, such as a spicy food restaurant. But the idea might fail right after the renovation is finished. The business situation in northeast China is truly difficult now. There isn't much to do. I invested 150,000 yuan to open a 100-square-meter barbecue restaurant on Yixing Street in Harbin. And after nearly a year, I really couldn't continue. In fact, many customers confirmed that my dishes were completely fine. But the basic reason the restaurant failed was that I made three major mistakes, each of them fatal. The first trap was opening during the off-season. In northeast China, the peak season seems to last only three months, June, July and August. When winter arrives and the temperature drops, there are almost no people on the streets. After October, our revenue drops sharply. You might not believe what I'm about to say, but many companies now cannot even pay their employees. Yes, I must finish my work today. And perhaps tonight I'll receive notice that the company has shut down. No wonder so many young people from northeast China are leaving. The employment situation is truly worrying. My wife's cousin just graduated and is looking for work in Harbin. All the job listings on Boss Jeepen look like this, a seven-day unpaid probation period. And if you pass that period, there will be another probation period. If everything goes smoothly, you may finally be hired formally. If you apply to four companies in a month, you will basically earn nothing that month. I planned to walk to Shen Yun, but a friend told me that Shen Yun probably isn't much better. Yangshan, it's true that many new graduates lack experience. But cities and ports not paying wages is illegal. Small businesses already struggle to survive. But after seven or eight years in Beijing, this kind of situation is really rare. What is truly frightening is that northeast China is gradually disappearing. In 30 years, the entire region may become nearly empty. You heard that right. This is a terrifying reality. In 2021, the birth rate in the three northeastern provinces was only 0.43%. Even lower than South Korea, which has the lowest birth rate in the world at 0.52%. And this may only be the beginning. Starting in 2030, China will enter a period of extremely high mortality in the northeast, with nearly 3 million deaths each year across the region. Combined with long-term population decline, the annual population decrease in the northeast could reach 5 million people. At present, the two worst performing industries in the northeast are catering services and food processing, followed by clothing, beauty services, nail salons, and then eyelash extensions. Industries such as fruit processing, online top-ups, cafes, and wedding planning are doing relatively well. However, many industries are earning far less profit than before, and many are even losing money. Every day I meet business owners from all kinds of industries, and honestly, no matter what field they are in, everyone is struggling. Most people now face a dilemma. I feel the same way. If I continue, I see no hope. If I give up, I don't know what else I can do. What would it be like to invest 1 million yuan to open a western restaurant in northeast China? Within one or two years after graduating from university, I worked in seven or eight different places. But I have never seen anything this bad. Right now in Jixi, even at six or seven in the evening, the streets are empty. Walk along the main roads, and you will see almost no one. Perhaps times have changed, but I admit I cannot adapt. I once planned to return to work in northeast China within the next two years. But every time I open a job search app, I feel discouraged, partly because the wages are quite low. But that is not the most important reason. I told myself that if I could go back, I would accept a salary cut. But the worst thing is something else. I talked about this with a friend from Heilongjiang. I am from Jilin. He said that if he returned to the northeast, his biggest fear would be having to beg for help and plead with people no matter what he did. I feel the same pain. Northeast China is a vast society built on personal connections. It seems that even if you want to become a street cleaner, you still need connections to get the job. So the blogger said he is originally from the northeast and loves his hometown very much. He believes the northeast is vast and rich in resources, and the grains and vegetables grown there taste better than those from other places. But what he cannot tolerate is the social environment there. You must beg and show humility in everything you do. He says that his current feeling is this. The countryside cannot hold his body, and a distant land cannot hold his soul. I am not deliberately smearing northeast China, my friend. But I have also lived in southern China for several years. The biggest difference is this. During those years in the south, I worked in sales. I made direct cold calls to companies and met leaders, chairmen, HR departments, and even vice presidents. If you discussed an issue with a leader, and they agreed that it was good and beneficial for their company, they would unconditionally help promote it and gather people to listen to your presentation. But the blogger says that in northeast China, if a salesperson goes to an unfamiliar company to promote a product, they might not even meet the leadership. Come to the countryside and experience it for yourself. Houses stand close together, yet there is no one on this side and no one on that side. It's almost like a ghost village. If you don't leave, you will find it completely empty. Many of my good friends have already left. Some went to study, some went to help their families, and some who have a bit of money take their parents to Sanya to spend the winter. It's like migratory birds. You know, people from the northeast are scattered across the world, and this is the most real picture of the rural northeast. Look at these empty houses. No one lives here anymore. Only a few houses remain. Our village used to have about 70 or 80 households, maybe even 100 or more. Now around 40 to 50 households no longer live here. Our village is one of the few villages still above this area. Most of the young people have stayed home to farm in the past, but now I hardly see anyone. I have wandered along this main road all morning and have not seen a single person. Rural areas look like this now.