In the Northeast Asia Special Region straddling China's border with North Korea, the area around the village of Nanping is dotted with half-finished buildings, cranes on empty lots and piles of concrete pipes, with only a few construction workers present.
What was planned in 2011 as a 30 billion yuan ($4.36 billion) development intended to showcase economic engagement between the two countries has stalled in recent months. No reasons have been given in official media.
About 700 km (430 miles) to the south, near the city of Dandong, the New Yalu River Bridge connecting the two countries lies unfinished. It was planned in 2010 at a cost of 2.2 billion yuan but now stands as a monument to the slowdown in economic ties.