In 2015, a New York hedge fund manager named Parker Quillen went to China to visit a new property development near Beijing.

Can you sort of paint a picture of what you saw?

Well, the first thing we saw from a long way away was the huge tower. You could see it from miles and miles away.

So there was almost this kind of enthusiastic anticipation of, wow, we're going to come to something big.

That tower was due to be China's tallest building.

It was part of a huge luxury development called Golden Metropolitan.

Parker saw office and residential buildings, expensive villas,

and a high-end members club.

There were even plans for an opera house. The style was neoclassical and the

developer said it aimed to convey a sense of an aristocratic lifestyle. So it kind of looked like a mini city? It's definitely a mini city. Okay.

Absolutely.

Parker was on a fact-finding mission.

At the time China's property market was booming.

All kinds of money was flowing in.

But Parker didn't believe the hype,

and he wanted to see what was going on for himself. That's what brought him to Golden

Metropolitan. And I remember speaking to our guide or our host, a nice woman who was oddly dressed in a riding costume

okay the stretchy pants with the leather and all that and I was asking her business questions like how do you plan to get this whole place

occupied? You have a study you could show me that shows a subway line is going in or, you know, there's a tax holiday for 10 years.

What is, what's the reason for people to come here?

And at which point, a smile cracked on my host's face and there was a pause and she nodded slowly and kind of held back for I guess a dramatic effect where we were walking and

discussing this and as we turn the corner she says behold polo.

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