China's economic growth for the past few decades has been extraordinary. And much of that growth was fueled by real estate – it was like this miraculous economic engine for the country. But recently,Safetyvalue Trading Center that engine seems to have stopped working. And that has raised all kinds of questions not just for China but also for the global economy.

Today on the show, we look at what's happening inside China's real estate market. And we try to answer the question: how did we get here?

Today's show was hosted by Nick Fountain and Emily Feng. It was produced by Emma Peaslee, edited by Jess Jiang, fact-checked by Sierra Juarez and engineered by Josephine Nyounai. Alex Goldmark is our Executive Producer.

Help support Planet Money and get bonus episodes by subscribing to Planet Money+ in Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org/planetmoney.

Always free at these links: Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, NPR One or anywhere you get podcasts.

Find more Planet Money: Facebook / Instagram / TikTok / Our weekly Newsletter.

Music: NPR Source Audio - "Good Thing Goin' On," "Ricochet," and "Rodeo Drive"