Binhai
Binhai New Area, the coastal development zone of Tianjin, China.
At a glance
| Source | Author | Role | In one line |
|---|---|---|---|
| Breakneck | Dan Wang | subject | ā€¯Chinaā€™s Manhattanā€¯: empty towers and a library of fake spines. |
Breakneck ā€” Dan Wang (2025)
Source: Readwise highlight
The skyscrapers in Binhai, the zone that Tianjin has designated a financial district, are mostly empty.
- Role: subject
- In the book: In 2020 the author took the train from Beijing to see Binhaiā€™s hollow financial district; the central mall had few people, and the Binhai Libraryā€™s shelves held printed images of book spines. Tianjin later revised its GDP down by nearly 20 percent.
- Why it matters: A metaphor for building hardware without the substance to fill it.