Explore reading: Chinese architectural replicas Have you ever been to China? Would you like to go there? Why? / Why not? Discuss with a partner. Read the article about architectural replicas in China. Choose the correct answer (A, B, C or D) for questions 1–7. Put a cross ( ) in the correct box. The first one (0) has been done for you. 28 a b Top five replicas of architectural sites in China The last few decades have seen an architectural flowering in China. But a very strange trend is developing throughout the country: replica architecture. The idea is to reproduce more or less exactly the iconic buildings of the world, most often European sights. Given that most Chinese tourists travel within Asia, the architects are trying to replicate some of the world’s attractions in their own country so that people can see them without needing to take long-haul flights. Here are five replicas of famous architectural sites in China. Little Paris – Tianducheng In 2007, a replica of Parisian neighbourhoods was built in the outskirts of Hangzhou, in Zhejiang Province. The inhabitants live in the middle of Parisian boulevards overlooking the Eiffel Tower and the Champs Elysees. The residential complex covers 30 km2 and houses tens of thousands of residents. Several years ago, it was thought to be a ghost town by many due to the low number of inhabitants (2,000 in 2013), but the situation has improved since then. Moreover, a metro station is under construction and is expected to start operating in 2021. Tower Bridge – Suzhou Built in 2012 in the Xiangcheng District, right in the middle of the new neighbourhoods that now form the old water city of Suzhou, Jiangsu Province, an almost identical replica of London’s Tower Bridge seems lost in the middle of a typical Chinese urban setting. The Chinese version isn’t an exact copy and has an upgrade over the original in the British capital. While the London version has a classic two-way road, Suzhou’s version boasts a four-lane highway. The Chinese bridge also has four towers, twice the number of the original. Each tower is 40 meters high and there is an elevator which takes visitors to the top. Hallstatt – Huizhou This pretty little Austrian village, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, was honoured with an identical replica of all its buildings and its street layout, including the church, in the subtropical province of Guangdong. The Austrians were not particularly enthusiastic about this project, except for Alexander Scheutz, the village’s mayor, who even travelled to the opening ceremony of the replica in 2012. It turned out that the mayor had a good reason to be more positive about the project as the Chinese tourists were amazed by the copy and later on expressed their willingness to visit the Austrian original. Thus, it could be said that the Chinese gave Hallstatt something of a free promotional campaign. Florentia Village – Tianjin This village in the Hebei Province has been designed in an entirely Italian fashion, with a little bit of Tuscany here and a little bit of Venice there. Here, one can find Italian luxury shops like Gucci, Prada, Fendi, Armani, and others. The construction resembles a 16th-century Italian town and offers its visitors a close copy of what they would experience on the Apennine Peninsula. To make things even more authentic, there are also gondolas sailing in the canals alongside the reconstructed classic buildings. Thames Town – Shanghai What could be more charming than a British city with its brick buildings and pubs? Only 30 kilometres from Shanghai, there is a residential area complete with Victorian façades, red telephone boxes, and ‘corner shops’. The town is named after the famous river Thames and the architecture was inspired by classic British market towns. It was completed in 2006 and occupies an area of one square kilometre, designed for a population of 10,000. Many consider it another ghost town, with few permanent residents and most of the properties bought only as holiday homes. 50 Language skills Extras Explore 4 Lost and found Nur zu Prüfzwecken – Eige tum des Verlags öbv
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