
They have built entire ghost cities with few people living in them:
Kangbashi District (Ordos, Inner Mongolia): The "poster child" of Chinese ghost cities. Originally planned for 1.5 million residents to accommodate a local coal boom, it only has around 120,000 residents today.
Chenggong (Yunnan): Built as a massive satellite city, it was planned for 1.5 million people but currently has just over 300,000 residents.
Xiangyun International (Hebei): A planned $3 billion "city within a city" featuring high-end apartments and theme parks, but currently sitting largely empty with fewer than 20,000 residents.