Housing
I Was a White Guy for Rent in a Chinese Ghost City
A filmmaker shares his experience in the once-lucrative business of hiring foreigners to lure homebuyers in China’s building boom.
On stage, David Borenstein assumed many identities. He’s been a “celebrated clarinetist,” a member of the “famous” American band The Travelers, and at one point, an Olympic athlete. His audience—local Chinese officials, investors, and potential homebuyers—watched in awe and cheered even though he, by his own admission, wasn’t very good.
But skills never mattered.