Flavorwire

Here at Flavorpill, we have what some might call a morbid fascination with abandoned and decaying buildings: movie theaters, hospitals, the ruins of Detroit. For the most part, our obsession has focused on the detritus of America’s prosperity — but BoingBoing points us to a video that reminds us that we’re not the only country that can’t keep pace with our own progress. This 15-minute Australian documentary investigates China’s real estate bubble, which is creating ghost malls, highrises, and entire cities bought up by speculators but completely beyond the price range of the average Chinese families. The visuals are arresting, but it’s well worth spending part of your lunch break watching the whole video, which provides frightening economic context for the strange images.