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Hollow villages

空心村(kongxin cun)

Many villages in East China's Shandong province have seen an increasing number of deserted houses, which is not only a waste of land, but also an impediment to urbanization and the development of rural areas. In a Shandong village of 265 households, more than 100 out of the overall 371 homes are not in use, and 71 homes are unoccupied and have even become public dumps, according to Chinese media reports. The village is gradually becoming a ghost town.