Article

2006-11-07 China-Japan-Koreas

"Pirated" English town in China amuses and riles

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Posted by Fred 2006-11-07 00:00|| || Front Page|| [2 views since 2007-05-07] Top

#1 Most of the houses have been sold, however, the town is hardly bustling: few residents have moved in and most of the shops are not yet open for business.

Not surprising. It will be 2 years before any people live there. The way Chinese build housing - you buy an apartment, then you get four concrete walls with pipes sticking out of them. No toilets, no kitchen counters, no nothing. You then furnish the place over the next 24 months. If you move in too early, you get jackhammers on your ceiling and elevators full of dust and rude country bumpkin construction workers. It's odd because you have these brand-new buildings, and they're completely empty and dark at night.

Not surprised they're doing this, though. There's some part of the Chinese psychology that makes them copy. A while back, I visited "Americaland" in Hanghzhou, a failed theme park that had been turned into a school. Replicas of the White House, Washington Monument, etc. Incredibly tacky. I saw the movie "The World" recently which dealt with a Beijing theme park that replicated scenic spots from around the world.

Posted by gromky 2006-11-07 05:21|| 2006-11-07 05:21|| Front Page Top

#2 g: The way Chinese build housing - you buy an apartment, then you get four concrete walls with pipes sticking out of them.

Well, it's not an open floor plan - the (brick) walls of the bedroom, living room, etc are all up. But the wiring, flooring, plumbing and painting all have to be done by the new owner. What the new owner has bought includes interior walls and bare cement floors.

Posted by Zhang Fei 2006-11-07 06:36|| http://timurileng.blogspot.com]">[http://timurileng.blogspot.com] 2006-11-07 06:36|| Front Page Top

#3 Article: "Traditionally, Chinese people think China is in the centre of the world. So it makes sense to build foreign-style towns around Shanghai because this will make most Chinese proud," said designer Huang Ziaming from Tian Hua Construction Design.

This is a pretty revealing statement. Anyone who thinks Chinese are humble hasn't listened in on Chinese talking amongst themselves.

Posted by Zhang Fei 2006-11-07 06:38|| http://timurileng.blogspot.com]">[http://timurileng.blogspot.com] 2006-11-07 06:38|| Front Page Top

#4 Sounds like Epcot.

Posted by Rob Crawford">Rob Crawford 2006-11-07 08:18|| http://www.kloognome.com/]">[http://www.kloognome.com/] 2006-11-07 08:18|| Front Page Top

#5 My exact thought, too, RC. Except without the high priced food, I'd bet.

Posted by BA 2006-11-07 09:14|| 2006-11-07 09:14|| Front Page Top

#6 On the north side of Columbus, Ohio, there's a retail and apartment development that's tricked out to look like a French provincal village circa 1930, complete with a statue of a poilu holding a laurel wreath of victory.

Posted by Mike 2006-11-07 09:32|| 2006-11-07 09:32|| Front Page Top

#7 Gag me with a spoon.

Posted by Nimble Spemble 2006-11-07 09:37|| 2006-11-07 09:37|| Front Page Top

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