Tianducheng, a Chinese suburb built during the country’s real estate boom, features a French-inspired development with a replica of the Eiffel Tower. However, the area is now becoming a ghost town as the real estate frenzy has passed. Despite this, the “duplicate” cities are still used for engagement and wedding photos.
Tianducheng, a suburb of the eastern Chinese city of Hangzhou, was built about 15 years ago at the start of that country’s epic real estate boom, when house prices were rising more than 13% a year. Between 2003 and 2014, developers built 100 billion square feet of residential real estate. There was a buyer for everything, including a development in Tianducheng dubbed “the Paris of the East” – 164 acres of French-inspired architecture, all centered around a one-third scale replica of the Eiffel Tower.
Forgive their French:
The Chinese predilection for what has been called “duplication” did not stop there. There are copycat cities for every travel fantasy, including London, Venice and, most surprisingly, Jackson Hole, Wyoming.
Now that the real estate frenzy has passed, Tianducheng and some of China’s other fake towns are becoming ghost towns. “I live here because it’s cheap,” said one of the suburb’s few residents.
Many apartments in Tianducheng are empty and few shops are open. However, the “duplicate” cities are often used as a destination for engagements and wedding photos.
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