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China is known for being masters at creating copycat versions of pretty much anything and everything under the sun.
They’re the Knockoff Kings. We’ve all seen the $25 fake Gucci purses or the $40 pair of phony “Air Jordans.” But back in the 90s-00s, China took their copycat skills to some really strange new levels, and unlike the other successful fake ventures, this massive project they embarked on was a huge flop.
China decided to build a bunch of European “replica” cities across the country, in hopes that their exploding population would flock there and live out their European fantasies.
However, that didn’t happen.
European influences can be seen all over the world, especially in food, culture, and architecture. But China has taken the influences a bit too literally.
In the 1990s, China experienced an economic boom and started building communities and villages outside of the populated cities. They recreated some of Europe’s most popular cities down to the finest details. The result is a bunch of European copycat communities scattered throughout China that are hardly lived in.
Although the Chinese towns aren’t exactly like the originals, the resemblance is uncanny and may be difficult to identify.
So, how close are these knockoff cities to the real deal?
Let’s take a look:
Is this the Champ de Mars in Paris? No, it’s actually a town called Tianducheng in China, and that’s a 354-foot replica of the Eiffel Tower.
This contraption does not capture the romance of Paris at all.
Is this a canal-city in Venice?
No, of course not. It’s a cheap knockoff in Tianjin, China – and to make matters even more cheesy, it’s actually a discount outlet mall.
Not their best work…
The Chinese did a much better job recreating this Austrian Alpine village in the Chinese province of Guangdong.
This village cost $940 million to build.
China got a little too confident in their copycat skills, and thought they could successfully recreate the magic of European history with modern materials.
It didn’t work. On the contrary, it was a massive failure.
What was once a tourism plan so bold in scope it was unfathomable to other continents fell victim to its own hype. Tourists were left underwhelmed by the strange iterations of the world’s favourite destinations, settings that felt more akin to film production lots.
Things grew strange very quickly. Some believe the developments are better described as failed theme parks – after all, China is believed to house over 1,600 unprofitable attractions of this kind.
Theme park is a great word to describe these bizarre little cities. “Carnival” might be even better.
This Twitter thread is a fascinating peek into these bizarre European copycat cities all across China.
The Chinese people love European culture. They are not shy about it. Many tankies and Chinese chauvinists pretend otherwise or seethe about it, they’re either lying or coping. Only god knows how many European town mimicries the Chinese built across China. This one is in Guangzhou pic.twitter.com/V7K2rEl2xV
— Manchu (@003carrierfan) March 24, 2023
These “Truman Show” type creations were doomed to flop. This failed experiment by the Chinese is a perfect example of how you can’t recreate the beauty and emotion behind art.
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