Story highlights
French photographer Raphael Olivier visited China's largest ghost city Kangbashi (New Ordos)
Officials invested over $1 billion into the development of the city, today it's home to a fraction of its projected population
Buildings by high profile architects are abandoned
Olivier recently went to N. Korea to document its architecture, see photos below
CNN
—
Once intended to accommodate over one million residents, the new town of Kangbashi in northern China is today home to just one-tenth of its projected population.
In the early 2000s, Chinese government officials poured over $1 billion into the development of the city, several miles south of Ordos in Inner Mongolia. The result, according to French photographer Raphael Olivier, is a “very beautiful city, full of contradictions.”
Drawn to the “post-apocalyptic” feel generated by the juxtaposition of vacant, large-scale buildings and the surrounding desert, Olivier documented the ghost town and its partially complete architectural marvels.
courtesy wanda group
For years, China has been an architect's playground, with lucrative funding and interest in foreign 'starchitects' giving rise to imaginative buildings. In 2016, China's State Council released new urban planning guidelines. According to the
document, "odd-shaped' buildings" -- or "bizarre architecture that is not economical, function, aesthetically pleasing or environmentally friendly" would be forbidden in the future. The document follows a 2014 call by Chinese President Xi Jinping for less
"weird architecture" to be built.
Courtesy Joseph di Pasquale
Memorable architectural designs, already built in China, include the Guangzhou Circle, home to the Guangdong Plastic Exchange. According to Italian architecture firm A.M. Progetti, the design is inspired by ancient jade discs.
Ed Jones/ AFP/ Getty Images
The CCTV headquarters, located in Beijing, was designed by OMA. It's nicknamed "big pants" by locals for its resemblance to trousers.
Eric Gregory Powell
The building opened in 2008 in Beijing's Central Business District.
Mark Ralston/ AFP/ Getty Images
Beijing residents poked fun at The People's Daily Headquarters in Beijing while it was under construction. A doctored photo of the phallic building, superimposed under the CCTV 'pants' building, went viral on the Internet before censors removed the images.
Courtesy Chetwoods Architects
The Phoenix Towers are planned for construction in Wuhan, the capital of Hubei province. The towers will be one kilometer high, and are scheduled for completion by 2017 or 2018.
The Gate of the Orient in Suzhou, Jiangsu province, stands more than 300 meters tall and has been compared to a pair of long johns.
courtesy kempinski
The Sunrise Kempinski Hotel on Beijing's Yanqi Lake has a private marina and is lit up by hydroelectric-powered LED lights.
courtesy Melcro Crown entertainment
This building, by Zaha Hadid Architects, is the fifth hotel tower of Macau's sprawling City of Dreams complex. It is meant to evoke an abstract lucky number 8.
Pool/Getty Images AsiaPac/Getty Images
Zaha Hadid Architects also built the Galaxy SOHO building in Beijing.
MARK RALSTON/AFP/AFP/Getty Images
Zaha Hadid's signature style has been imitated in other provinces in the country. This building in China's Chongqing district has a striking resemblance to architect's work.
courtesy sheraton
A horseshoe may be seen as lucky for some and comedic fodder for others. The $1.5 billion Sheraton in Huzhou, Zhejiang province is famed for its unusual design. The area was also the location for scenes from Oscar-winning movie "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon."
courtesy Langham Place
Opened in 2013, Langham Place's exterior is designed to resemble unfolding wings in action, "evoking a sense of freedom and space," according to a hotel spokesperson. It also has Guangzhou's biggest ballroom.
MARK RALSTON/AFP/AFP/Getty Images
The city of Ordos is commonly referred to as a "Ghost Town" due to its lack of people. Here is a view of the City Library and the Ordos Museum building.
Entitled “A Failed Utopia” his stunning – if oddly surreal – collection of images focus on the city’s ambitious developments, rather than its “empty streets.”
“I was just keen to take my time, and walk through different districts, and almost in a catalogue way, find as many interesting structures as possible,” he says of covering parts of the 355-square-kilometer (137 square mile) sprawl.
“There’s the super-modern edgy Ordos Museum [by MAD Architects], the more boring, modern Chinese residential blocks, unfinished projects from Ordos 100 [a project by Swiss firm Herzog & de Meuron and Chinese artist Ai Weiwei to invite 100 architects from 27 countries to design for Ordos] as well as the influence of Soviet-style architecture,” explains Olivier.
“This mix is only really possible in China because it’s the only country that is both communist and has the money and power to attract so many architects from abroad.”
Though Olivier admits the story has been covered in the news media, he feels that the ghost town tag overlooks the reality of the city’s continued expansion.
“Foreigners consider the city to be abandoned. Chinese consider the city to be still developing,” he explains. “A lot of the early news reports focus on it being a failed, weird place – but it’s also a huge accomplishment and people there are not necessarily unhappy, there is a huge sense of hope. You have to respect that on a certain level.”