When BBC reporter Jonathan Head entered "Asia Pacific City," he described it as "one of the strangest places on Earth."
"Asia Pacific City" is located in Myawaddy Town, Kayin State, Myanmar, in a valley of ditches, each word evoking the notion of a "scam park."
However, the reporter felt as if he was in a second or third-tier Chinese city, with shops along the streets all bearing Chinese signs and a full range of Chinese restaurants, until you notice the Burmese script alongside the Chinese.
The infrastructure within Asia Pacific City is well-developed, with hotels, hospitals, nightclubs, KTVs, logistics, bath centers, supermarkets, and more. There is even an "Asia Pacific Library."
The "tour guide" from Asia Pacific Group told the reporter that this is a safe, green city. Scam activities, forced labor, and human trafficking have been banned. On the surface, it looks no different from an ordinary city, and even appears more developed.
A blogger, while traveling in Mae Sot, Thailand, across the river, captured the view of Asia Pacific City from the Thai perspective.
On the Thai side of the Moei River, there is a "China View Chinese Scenic Café," where customers can see the brightly lit Asia Pacific City in Myanmar at night, in stark contrast to the rural charm of Mae Sot.
Locals say that the high-rise buildings across the river started to rise suddenly from 2017, only knowing that the Chinese had taken a large piece of land there, hence the café was named "China View."
Indeed, that is the case.
Shi Lun Kai and His Asia Pacific 'Empire'
The developer behind Asia Pacific City is Asia Pacific International Holdings Group.
According to the official website of "Asia Pacific International," the group is registered in Hong Kong, with its headquarters in Bangkok. The group claims to have investment operations in new urban industries in Myanmar, the Philippines, Cambodia, Vietnam, Thailand, and Malaysia.
Among them, the key project is Myanmar's Asia Pacific City.
According to a report by Caixin, the founder of Asia Pacific Group is named Shi Zhijiang, who, after obtaining Cambodian nationality, often appears in public events under the names "Shi Lun Kai" or "Tang Lun Kai."
