Would-be garages of the abandoned mansions were repurposed as storage for hay bails, and modest two-rail fences corralled herds of cows between properties. Photo: Jade Gao/AFP/Getty ImagesA broader real estate crisisThe State Guest Mansions are just one of a number of deserted developments scattered around China, an occurrence that speaks to a growing real estate crisis in the country. Nearby is an abandoned high-rise complex, which Jonathan Cheng, a reporter for The Wall Street Journal, visited in February 2024 and documented in a video on the paper’s website. The complex was developed by China Evergrande Group, the country’s biggest residential real estate developer, which filed for bankruptcy in August 2023. According to The Wall Street Journal, about 800,000 of the company’s 1.2 million presold units remain unfinished.