6 Fascinating Fake Cities of China: Copying Western Architecture
We are all familiar with the Chinese mastery of creating eerily similar duplicate products sold for cheaper prices than their originals. However, it turns out, this skill is not only restricted to individual products, but includes entire fake cities!
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Dalian, Liaoning – Located in the North Eastern province of Liaoning, the port city of Dalian, also known as “Chinese Venice”, was designed by a group of French architects in 2011 and includes 4 kilometres of hand-dug canals and over 200 Venetian style buildings and bridges, mimicking the Italian coastal city.
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Dali, Yunnan – Yunnan province in Southwest China is home to Dali’s Ideal State, a resort modelled after the picturesque Greek island, Santorini, in the south Aegean Sea. This resort, overlooking the serene Erhai Lake, is an important tourist destination, especially for domestics, who want to enjoy Santorini on a budget.
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Tianducheng, Hangzhou – Tianducheng, or ‘Sky City’ is a housing estate in Hangzhou, the capital city of Zhejiang province, which resembles a mini-Paris. It includes a fake Eiffel Tower, one-third its original size, and 31 square kilometres of Parisian architecture, fountains and landscaping.
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Thames Town, Songjiang – Thames Town in the Songjiang district, is a new town named after the Thames River in London and resembles a British market town. It includes cobbled streets, Victorian and Tudor style architecture, corner shops, and even iconic British red telephone booths.
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Hallstatt, Huizhou – This ‘Made In China’ version of the Austrian lakeside town, which is a UNESCO world heritage site, includes a replica of the church clock tower, European-style wooden houses, fountains, and various other objects from the original village’s marketplace.
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Jackson Hole, Hebei – A resort town in Hebei province, north of Beijing, wedged between Taihang and Yan Mountain ranges, inspired by the ski-town of Jackson, Wyoming located in the United States, which neighbours the famous Yellowstone National Park.