But these don't really make very good "backup" cities. The housing isn't owned by the government. It's owned by investors, often individuals, and it serves as

But these don't really make very good "backup" cities. The housing isn't owned by the government. It's owned by investors, often individuals, and it serves as a sink for money that has nowhere else to go. Real estate and construction investment of this kind is one of the big drivers of the Chinese economy. If the government confiscates property on the scale you're talking about -- even if it's in response to a disaster -- the bottom would drop out of their financial markets. Ain't gonna happen, even in a disaster.