Nowhere are the problems with this approach more apparent than in the attempt to plan urbanization, which entailed the construction of large new cities – complete with modern infrastructure and plentiful housing – that have yet to be occupied. In a sense, these “ghost cities” resemble the Russian empire’s Potemkin villages, built to create an impressive illusion for the passing Czarina; but China’s ghost cities are real and were presumably meant to do more than flatter the country’s leaders.