"Spying" by Chinese architects would not have been conspicuous in Hallstatt, where there are up to 800,000 visitors each day who "photograph everything and everyone," Scheutz told Austrian news agency APA. Representatives from the Alpine village's historic church are also concerned. Copying a house of God for use as a tourist attraction is problematic, Catholic priest Richard Czurylo told daily Die Presse, adding that at the very least, the new church must be declared a place of prayer. — Der Spiegel
An idyllic Austrian village has apparently impressed Chinese architects so much that they have decided to copy it in their own country. But the townspeople living in the UNESCO World Heritage site are unhappy about the plans. This isn't the first time this sort of copying has occurred. China has also replicated amongst other places, Thames Town.
4 Comments
The chinese replicate everything... a total lack of creativity, originality and genius loci. These so called "architects" should be ashamed to call themselves that. They are just the same as the street vendor with the pirated dvds or the hidden shop with the counterfeit chanel bags. While I was in Hangzou I visited a place called Little Paris... a little piece of Paris with complete with an Eiffel tower. The whole city was pretty much abandoned and it didn't even turn on the public lights at night despite being finished for several years before hand. What a shame to see this happen and more so considering that in other parts of china schools and hospitals are falling over.
Maybe this was how they built the Great Wall.
In the north Georgia mountains there is a faux alpine village called Helen, built in the 70s to boost tourism...I wish it had copied the original as well as this one did.
I prefer Las Vegas. It is closer to Los Angeles, Cheap food and 24hr traffic jams on the strip.
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