Bloomberg Originals

Why China Is Building the World’s First $2 Trillion Megacity

Hong Kong is betting its economic future on a megadevelopment spanning one-third of its territory. The multibillion-dollar Northern Metropolis project aims to turn a rural frontier of fish ponds, farmland and villages into a tech hub of cutting-edge labs and startups. The effort also will serve as a concrete-and-steel connection to Mainland China, and eventually ten other nearby cities that make up the Greater Bay Area. But as ambitious as the Northern Metropolis may be, let alone the $2 trillion economy that will include Hong Kong and its sister cities, it is all part of a much larger, almost unfathomable transformation planned for the world’s second-largest economy. Beijing foresees 19 of these megaregions spread across the country, hoping to fuse hundreds of millions of people into urban engines of knowledge and labor. But Hong Kong's experience may be a warning about what’s to come. As concrete swallows the landscape, it raises a critical question: is this the model for humanity’s utopian future, or that of a hyper-efficient dystopia? 0:00 - China’s Megalopolis Project 1:48 - Cities Are Getting Bigger 2:47 - Northern Metropolis Project 3:59 - Farmers Upended 5:35 - If You Build It… 6:16 - Shenzhen Miracle 7:35 - Megaregional China 8:06 - The Problem 8:58 - China’s Middle Income Trap 10:06 - Utopia or Dystopia? Watch more short documentaries: https://bloom.bg/4wWlMsa Visually compelling features born out of the Bloomberg newsroom, extended to documentary video. #China #Cities #Economy -------- Like this video? Subscribe: http://www.youtube.com/Bloomberg?sub_confirmation=1 Get unlimited access to Bloomberg.com for just $1.99 your first month: https://www.bloomberg.com/subscriptions?in_source=YoutubeOriginals Bloomberg Originals offers bold takes for curious minds on today’s biggest topics. Hosted by experts covering stories you haven’t seen and viewpoints you haven’t heard, you’ll discover cinematic, data-led shows that investigate the intersection of business and culture. Exploring every angle of climate change, technology, finance, sports and beyond, Bloomberg Originals is business as you’ve never seen it. Subscribe for business news, but not as you've known it: exclusive interviews, fascinating profiles, data-driven analysis, and the latest in tech innovation from around the world. Visit our partner channel Bloomberg News for global news and insight in an instant.