Underground world hints at China's coming crisis

[Donnachaidh]

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/china-business/8291626/Underground-world-hints-at-Chinas-coming-crisis.html

To understand how far ordinary Chinese have been priced out of their country's property market, you need to look not upwards at the Beijing's shimmering high-rise skyline, but down, far below the bustling streets where nearly 20m people live and work.



There, in the city's vast network of unused air defence bunkers, as many as a million people live in small, windowless rooms that rent for £30 to £50 a month, which is as much as many of the city's army of migrant labourers can afford.

In a Beijing suburb, beneath one of the thousands of faceless residential tower blocks that have carpeted the city's peripheries in a decade-long building frenzy, one of Beijing's "bomb shelter hoteliers", as they are known, agrees to show us his wares.

Passing under a green sign proclaiming "Air Defence Basement", Mr Zhao leads us down two flights of stairs to the network of corridors and rooms that were designed to offer sanctuary in the event of war or disaster.

More at the link --

[Ghost Dog]

1. We are so like termites, aren't we.

But we are supposed to be able to learn

fast.

[Jackpine Radical]

2. That is such an amazing graphic.

[Ichingcarpenter]

3. Robert Crumb. who now lives in France

If anyone didn't know that graphic.

[Celtic Raven]

4. Unintended consequence of this

If Beijing is destroyed these millions would be the survivors for having been down in the bunkers.

[Liberal_in_LA]

5. Amazing story. I had NO IDEA. Bookmarking to read.