Ghost town of mansions now reclaimed by farmers

Taking over: Cattle being reared near deserted villas in a suburb of Shenyang in Liaoning. — AFP

SHENYANG: Cattle wander between the concrete shells of half-finished mansions in northeastern China, some of the only occupants of a luxury complex whose crumbling verandas and overgrown arches are stark symbols of a housing market crippled by its own excess.

Property giant Greenland Group broke ground on the development nestled in the hills around Shenyang, an industrial city of 9 million, in 2010 – when the real estate sector’s lightning growth was in full swing.