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| To Tang Chao, the apartment in northeast China was where he and his wife were going to start a new life together. |
| 对唐超（音）来说，中国东北的那处公寓是他和妻子开始新生活的地方。 |
| They put down tens of thousands of dollars for it. But months past its scheduled completion, a concrete shell with wiring protruding from the walls and piles of dirt on the floor was all there was to show for the expense. Soon, even their marriage unraveled. |
| 他们为此投入了几百万。但在原定完工日期的几个月后，他们的钱只换来露着电线的混凝土毛坯，地上堆满废料。很快，就连他们的婚姻也破裂了。 |
| In another city, a man bought a space for a grocery business he thought would help give his young son a better future. A woman paid for an apartment where she imagined her toddler would grow up safe, and she might have a second child. In Shanghai, a technician from a small town thought she had made her parents proud by buying a new home in the big city. |
| 在另一个城市，一个男人为开杂货店买下一个空间，他想给年幼的儿子更美好的未来。一个女人买了一套公寓，想象她蹒跚学步的孩子在那里安全地长大，而且她可能会生第二个孩子。在上海，一位来自小城市的技术人员认为，她在大城市买了新房，让父母感到骄傲。 |
| What these and hundreds of thousands of other Chinese homebuyers couldn’t have known was that the country’s decades-long real estate boom would come to a sudden halt. Developers ran out of money amid a government crackdown on excessive debt and a slowing economy. They stopped building. |
| 这些人和其他数十万中国购房者想不到的是，该国长达数十年的房地产繁荣会突然停止。在政府打击过度债务和经济放缓的情况下，开发商耗尽资金，停止了建造。 |
| Across the country, instead of apartment towers, uninhabitable concrete structures rise up from idle, overgrown construction sites. Infuriated homebuyers in more than 100 cities rose up in a rare act of collective rebellion last year, vowing not to repay loans on unfinished properties. |
| 在全国各地，闲置的建筑工地杂草丛生，上面耸立着的不是公寓楼，而是无法居住的混凝土结构。去年在100多个城市，被激怒的购房者罕见地集体反抗，誓言停止偿还未完工房产的贷款。 |
| We talked to four people who emptied their life savings and took out huge loans for homes that have not been completed. They told us about their frustration and showed us the apartments that are now ugly reminders of dreams dashed and promises broken. |
| 我们采访了四位购房者，他们掏空毕生积蓄，以巨额贷款买房，房子却尚未完工。他们向我们诉说挫败感，并给我们看了公寓，它们千疮百孔，提醒着他们破灭的梦想和未兑现的承诺。 |
| “It was a simple dream — to have a home, a family,” Mr. Tang said. |
| “只是一个简单的梦想——拥有一座房子，一个家，”唐超说。 |
| “We never imagined homes would go unfinished in Shanghai. How would it be possible?” |
| “对烂尾都没想过，上海怎么可能会烂尾呢？” |
| Daisy Xu, a 28-year-old lab technician, remembers the day she bought her apartment in Shanghai as if it were yesterday. |
| 28岁的实验室技术员黛西·徐（音）对她在上海买房的那天记忆犹新，仿佛就在昨天。 |
| She had waited anxiously with hundreds of other prospective buyers in a hotel ballroom at a sales event for Royals Garden, a new development. When her turn finally came, she was given less than a minute to pick an apartment. |
| 在新开发项目君御公馆的一次销售活动中，她和其他数以百计名潜在买家在酒店宴会厅里焦急地等待着。终于轮到她时，她只有不到一分钟的时间来挑选公寓。 |
| She scanned a wall on which were pinned strips of paper bearing the unit numbers of apartments that had not yet been sold. She knew she didn’t want the penthouse or anything lower than the fourth floor. She selected an apartment on the eighth floor, and told a sales employee. He tore the strip off the wall and handed it to her. |
| 她扫视着一面墙上钉着的纸条，上面写着尚未售出的公寓的单元号。她不想要顶层或四楼以下的房子，于是选了一套八楼的公寓，并告诉了销售人员。他从墙上撕下纸条递给她。 |
| “Congratulations, new homeowner!” a presenter announced. |
| “恭喜业主！”一位主持人宣布。 |
| Ms. Xu was exhilarated. The apartments sold out that day, dashing the hopes of many others who had been behind her in line. |
| 徐女士兴奋不已。公寓当天售罄，排在她后面的许多人希望都落空了。 |
| “I was so thrilled and happy, I immediately took a photo of the unit number and told people back home of the good news,” Ms. Xu said. |
| “房牌号拿到很激动，感觉很开心，马上拍照给家里报喜，”徐女士说。 |
| The apartment cost around $495,000, a hefty price tag but affordable compared to older homes in Shanghai. She wanted a place with two bathrooms, giving her parents or in-laws more privacy if they visited them. The property looked out on a river and was steps away from a bustling street full of restaurants. |
| 这套公寓的价格约为335万人民币，虽然价格不菲，但与上海的老房子相比，还是可以承受的。她希望有两个卫生间，如果父母或公公婆婆来访，可以拥有更多隐私。公寓楼俯瞰河流，距离餐馆林立的繁华街道仅几步之遥。 |
| Ms. Xu was supposed to get the keys in September and move in early this year. But the complex is nowhere close to being done. The unpainted 16-story building is wrapped in green netting and surrounded by weeds and debris. It pains her to see the site on her way to work from an apartment she rents nearby. |
| 徐女士本应在9月拿到钥匙，并在今年年初入住。但是楼房还远未完工。未粉刷过的16层楼被绿网包裹，杂草杂物环绕。她在附近租房住，在上班路上看到这个工地让她很痛苦。 |
| In China, about 90 percent of new homes are sold before they are built. This presale model allows developers to raise cash quickly, but shifts much of the risk to buyers like Ms. Xu. They are expected to pay in full before construction starts, often taking out mortgages to do so. |
| 在中国，大约90%的新房在建造前就已售出。这种预售模式让开发商能够快速筹集资金，但将大部分风险转移给了徐女士这样的买家。他们需要在开工前全额付款，通常需要贷款。 |
| Regulations require that the money from presales only be used for construction of that project. But until recently, supervision was lax and developers would use the funds for whatever they wanted, including starting other projects. |
| 法规要求预售资金只能用于该项目的建设。但直到不久前，监管还很松懈，开发商会随心所欲地使用这些资金，包括用于启动其他项目。 |
| As home prices soared, the government tightened financing rules for developers in the hope of preventing a housing sector collapse. Many large developers — like China Fortune Land Development of the Royals Garden project in Shanghai — buckled under the weight of massive debt and had to stop work. |
| 随着房价飙升，政府收紧了开发商的融资规则，希望防止房地产行业崩溃。许多大型开发商——比如开发君御公馆的上海华夏幸福——在巨额债务的重压下摇摇欲坠，不得不停工。 |
| Despite the delay, Ms. Xu continues to fork out more than $1,300 every month in mortgage payments. |
| 尽管交房延误，徐女士每月仍要支付超过8700元人民币的贷款。 |
| She said that she was hiding the problem from her parents. She is from a small town in southern China and owning property in Shanghai had been the ultimate proof that she had made it. |
| 她说她向父母隐瞒了这个问题。她来自中国南方的一个小镇，在上海拥有房产是她成功的最终证明。 |
| “I dodge their questions about the apartment, but how much longer can I keep doing that?” |
| “（我对他们）搪塞过去，但是具体能瞒到啥时候呢？” |
| “I wanted a stable family for my newborn baby. ” |
| “我想孩子刚出世就是想要一个稳定的家庭 。” |
| In the eastern city of Nanchang, a street divides “Xinli City,” a development with more than 4,000 apartments, into two sections. On one side are fully occupied residential towers, surrounded by trees. On the other side, row after row of unfinished concrete structures, with no paint, no windows — and no sign of progress. |
| 在东部城市南昌，拥有4000多套公寓的“新力城”被一条街道一分为二。一侧的住宅楼绿树环绕，已完全入住。另一侧是一排排未完工的混凝土结构，没有油漆，没有窗户——也没有任何进展的迹象。 |
| Andie Cao, a sales representative in her 20s, owns an apartment on the wrong side. Whenever she looks at the finished buildings, she sees the life she was once promised. |
| 20多岁的销售代表安迪·曹（音）的这套公寓就在错误的这一侧。每当她看着完工的建筑，就仿佛看到曾经有人向她承诺过的生活。 |
| Ms. Cao bought the three-bedroom apartment in 2019 for $203,000. The price was high, but she and her husband had just had a baby and were thinking of having another. They liked that the developer’s plan for the large apartment complex included a kindergarten and an elementary school. |
| 曹女士在2019年以137万元人民币的价格购买了这套三居室公寓。价格虽高，但她和丈夫刚刚生了一个孩子，正考虑再要一个。他们喜欢开发商对这个大型公寓区的规划，其中包括一所幼儿园和一所小学。 |
| Her apartment had been scheduled for completion in November 2021, just in time for her child to start kindergarten. But the developer, Sinic Holdings Group, stopped work in August 2021 when it hit financial trouble, and has yet to finish building the apartments. |
| 她的公寓原定于2021年11月完工，正好赶上她的孩子上幼儿园。但开发商新力控股集团因陷入财务困境，于2021年8月停工，公寓至今仍未完工。 |
| Ms. Cao had already handed over more than $80,000 for the apartment, money she had saved from toiling away in Shanghai. Then in July of last year, she joined other homebuyers around the country in a mortgage payment strike over unfinished homes. |
| 安迪·曹已为这套房支付55万元的款项，那是她在上海辛苦工作攒下的钱。然后在去年7月，她加入其他全国各地其他购房者的活动，停止偿还未完工房产的贷款。 |
| “I will not pay until they deliver, and I’m willing to pay a fine by then, but we will not be exploited and bled dry.” |
| “他不交房我就不付款，我愿意交房之后可以付违约金。我们不想被当成韭菜一直割，敲骨榨髓。” |
| The homebuyers’ campaign has drawn the attention of the authorities. The police call her from time to time, warning her not to take any drastic action. Some homebuyers who protested had been detained. |
| 业主发起的运动引起了当局的注意。警察时不时给她打电话，警告她不要采取过激行为。一些抗议的购房者已被拘留。 |
| “What did we do wrong to deserve being treated like this?” she said. “I just don’t understand.” |
| “我们做错了什么？为什么要受到这个待遇，想不通，”她说。 |
| Ms. Cao and her husband continue to work and pay rent in Shanghai. She doesn’t think the apartment will be completed and can’t imagine trying to buy another home or having a second child. |
| 安迪·曹与丈夫继续在上海工作租房。她认为那栋房子会烂尾，再买一套房或是生二胎已经不可想象。 |
| “I feel like the past few years’ hard work has been for nothing.” |
| “前几年付出没有希望了，打水漂了。” |
| “To me, this apartment is everything.” |
| “对我来说这套房子就是我的全部。 ” |
| When Tang Chao and his fiancée set out to buy a home in 2019, they were drawn to Haiyi Changzhou, one of the hottest projects in the northeastern city of Dalian. Its developer promised a sprawling complex of high-rises with serene landscaping and privacy, offering “a beautiful life close to the sea.” |
| 2019年，唐超与未婚妻开始看房，他们看中了海逸长洲这个东北城市大连最热门的项目之一。该楼盘的开发商承诺打造规模庞大的高层建筑群，坐享雅致景观与私密性，享受“亲海美好生活”。 |
| The couple bought a modest two-bedroom apartment for around $177,000. To cover the required down payment of $74,000, they used their savings and got their parents to pitch in. Mr. Tang, who works in a restaurant, sold a small place he had out in the countryside. |
| 二人以120万元的价格购置了一套面积不大的两居公寓。为了支付50多万元的首付，他们动用了积蓄，还得请父母资助。在餐馆工作的唐超卖掉了自己在乡下的一套小房子。 |
| They signed a contract for the apartment in 2019, then got their marriage license. The plan was to hold a wedding after the apartment was completed and move in together. |
| 他们在2019年签订购房合同，然后领了结婚证。他们本计划在交房后举行婚礼，然后乔迁新居。 |
| “At the time, we told our friends around us that we had bought a home here, we were very proud,” said Mr. Tang, who spoke on condition that he be identified by his nickname, Chao, because of the political sensitivity of the topic. “I come from the countryside, it felt good to be able to buy an apartment somewhere.” |
| “买的时候也和周围的朋友说在这里买房呢，很自豪，”唐超说，由于这一话题的政治敏感性，他在接受采访时要求仅仅透露他的小名唐超。“我在农村出来的，能在那里买个房子觉得特别好。” |
| The apartment was slated for completion last August, but Sunac China Holdings, the project’s developer, has been mired in financial trouble. |
| 房子原定于去年8月完工，但开发商融创深陷财务困境。 |
| In September, the owners of more than 2,600 unfinished units in the Haiyi Changzhou development threatened to stop paying their mortgages. |
| 9月，海逸长洲2600多套未完工单元的业主威胁停贷。 |
| Mr. Tang said his wife grew tired of waiting for a home that might never get finished and a new life that might never start. In November, they filed for divorce. He is still paying $550 a month in mortgage payments. |
| 唐超说，他的妻子厌倦了等待可能永远不能完工的房子和可能永远都不会开始的新生活。他们在9月申请离婚。他每月仍需支付3700元左右的房贷。 |
| “When I think about the unfinished apartment, it’s as if I’m falling from heaven to hell, ” Mr. Tang said. |
| “现在一说烂尾了感觉心里从天堂到地狱的落差，特别难受，”他说。 |
| “I have nothing to look forward to in life — no apartment, no wife.” |
| “人生都没有什么奔头了，房子也没了，媳妇也没了。” |
| “After this, I no longer believe government officials stand up for the people.” |
| “买了烂尾房，我就感觉当官的为老百姓做主我是不信的 。” |
| Xu Feng remembered 2019 as a good year. The grocery store in the eastern city of Nanchang that he rented and operated with his wife was doing well. He thought it was time to own his own store. |
| 徐峰（音）觉得2019年是个好年头。他和妻子在东部城市南昌租下的一间杂货店生意很好。他觉得是时候购置属于自己的商铺了。 |
| He found the perfect spot: a 1,000-square feet, $163,000 space on the first floor of a residential tower. It was part of Xinli City, the same giant complex of thousands of apartments where Andie Cao, the service worker, had also bought a unit. |
| 他找到了完美的地点：一处面积约93平，售价110万元的住宅一楼空间。它属于新力城，一座拥有数以千计公寓的大型楼盘，服务从业者安迪·曹也在这里买了一套房。 |
| Mr. Xu had to sell some goods at a loss to come up with the down payment of about $81,000 and take out a 10-year mortgage. He enrolled his son in an elementary school in Nanchang. |
| 为了支付55万元首付，徐峰不得不亏本甩卖一些商品，并申请了10年按揭贷款。他让儿子上了南昌的一所小学。 |
| Three years later, Xinli City is still unfinished. Mr. Xu said that he was under immense financial stress, paying for rent on their current business on top of repaying his mortgage. He stopped eating out with friends and cut back on spending except for tuition for his son. |
| 三年后，新力城仍未完工。徐峰说，他承受了巨大的经济压力，除了还贷，还得为手上的生意支付铺租。他不再和朋友出去吃饭，除了儿子的学费，其他开支一律削减。 |
| “I never thought this would happen to me,” he said. “I’m afraid to have another child. The income and expenses barely break even.” |
| “从来没想过这种事情发生在我身上 ，”他说。“想要二胎也不敢，赚的钱勉强够开支 。” |
| Frustrated by the delay, Mr. Xu and hundreds of homebuyers have protested several times over the past year. |
| 出于对交房延迟的不满，徐峰和数百名购房者在过去一年多次提出抗议。 |
| They gathered outside the local government, on public squares and even hung banners from the top of a building. But so far, nothing has worked and many people have been detained at protests, he said. |
| 他们在当地政府大门外和公共广场上聚集，甚至在建筑物顶部悬挂横幅。但他说，到目前为止没有任何效果，许多人还在抗议中被拘留。 |
| In August, Mr. Xu stopped paying his mortgage. This has affected his credit standing and forced him to rely on relatives to take out loans to keep his business afloat. But he said he no longer holds any hope that the government would intervene and help people like him. |
| 徐峰在8月停贷。这影响了他的征信，迫使他依靠亲戚贷款来维持生意。但他表示，已经不再期待政府会出手帮助像他这样的人。 |
| “We’ve been through too much while trying to fight for our rights,” he said. “Government officials only look out for each other and don’t do any good for regular people.” |
| “我们维权经历了太多，官官相护，对老百姓没有一点好处，”他说。 |
| The New York Times contacted Sunac China, China Fortune Land Development, Sinic Holdings Group, as well as housing regulators at the municipal, provincial and national levels for comment. None responded. |
| 《纽约时报》联系了融创中国、华夏幸福、新力控股、以及市省与国家各级住房监管部门请求置评。无人回应。 |
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