In the Dianshan Lake region, less than 40 miles west of central Shanghai, the appetite for speculative real estate has driven developers into China’s most fertile land, the Yangtze Delta. Only about half of the luxury villas like those on the following pages, which can be as big as 6,300 square feet and sell for as much as $1.5 million, are occupied — mostly as second homes. The rest sit empty, as the housing sector staggers under a surplus. The photographer George Steinmetz, who visited the area last fall, describes the transition as converting “rice farms to high-end McMansions.” As that process plays out, the country’s domestic rice consumption is set to soon outpace rice production. Marnie Hanel
在离上海市中心以西不到40英里的淀山湖区，对投机性地产的欲望驱使开发商们进入中国最肥沃的土地——长江三角洲。页面上的这种豪华别墅面积可达6300平方英尺，价格高达150万美元，大约只有半数入住，大多是作为第二套住宅。剩下的都闲置着，因为中国的住宅市场供过于求，停滞不前。摄影师乔治·斯坦梅茨(George Steinmetz)去年秋天参观了那个区域，说那里正“从稻田变成高端豪宅”。随着这个进程的发展，中国的国内大米产量会很快无法满足消费需求。
Urban homeownership in China in 1997: 57%
1997年中国城市住房自有率：57%
Urban homeownership today: 85%
如今的城市住房自有率：85%
Portion of urban population with more than one home: 21%
有多于一套住房的城市人口比例：21%
Urban homes that have been sold and remain vacant: 22.4%
售出后闲置的城市住房比例：22.4%
Average size of home in China: 1,076 square feet
中国人均住房面积：1076平方英尺
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