Chinese Dreamland

A tale charting the rise and fall of the Chinese property market through the experiences of Yana, a young entrepreneur.


She can turn a sleepy ghost town into a booming, world-class city for the afternoon. Yana and an assortment of colourful foreigners organise elaborate schemes with Chinese property developers and local government officials.

At real estate openings they stage dazzling spectacles where their foreign employees are presented as famous entertainers, important businessmen, top-20 models, diplomats, architects, and more.

The performances are timed right for when speculators from cities arrive. During the height of the housing boom, Yana continuously travels to remote development projects, staging spectacles that turn them into "cities of the future" - as defined by the surreal imaginations of provincial Chinese politicians and developers. For a while, she makes good money doing this work.