A Chinese company recently erected a copy of the Austrian village of Hallstatt in the southern province of Guangdong, down to the statues. But it's hardly the first time China has taken a European city as inspiration to build a tourist destination or housing development back home.
China Copies The World, Village By Village
![China's Minmetals spent $940 million to build the Chinese replica of Austria's Hallstatt, a UNESCO heritage site, in the southern city of Huizhou in Guangdong Province.](https://gdb.rferl.org/6d5a21ed-a795-490b-abd7-56227680ddf2_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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China's Minmetals spent $940 million to build the Chinese replica of Austria's Hallstatt, a UNESCO heritage site, in the southern city of Huizhou in Guangdong Province.
![The Chinese Hallstatt features a church spire, a town square ringed by pastel-colored buildings, and angel statues. And Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck.](https://gdb.rferl.org/eb4e8b78-23ee-4815-87ab-4e33510fdc5c_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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The Chinese Hallstatt features a church spire, a town square ringed by pastel-colored buildings, and angel statues. And Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck.
![Chengdu, capital of the southwestern Sichuan Province, opened British Town in 2005, which was modeled after Dorchester, England.](https://gdb.rferl.org/8b1e48e0-94db-4b4c-b17f-82984d81b7dd_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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Chengdu, capital of the southwestern Sichuan Province, opened British Town in 2005, which was modeled after Dorchester, England.
![Anting New Town, on the outskirts of Shanghai, was designed by the German architectural firm Albert Speer and Partner and boasts a German look. But the development is still a ghost town.](https://gdb.rferl.org/7a73ceda-564d-4b2c-ba2b-720f182f9462_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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Anting New Town, on the outskirts of Shanghai, was designed by the German architectural firm Albert Speer and Partner and boasts a German look. But the development is still a ghost town.
![Thames Town, in a southwestern suburb some 40 kilometers from the two-centuries-old commercial heart of Shanghai, is said to draw its inspiration from Bristol and Birmingham in England.](https://gdb.rferl.org/b63f3f9b-fccb-4253-bed5-082f616bc880_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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Thames Town, in a southwestern suburb some 40 kilometers from the two-centuries-old commercial heart of Shanghai, is said to draw its inspiration from Bristol and Birmingham in England.
![Thames Town features a 66-meter-tall church that bears a striking resemblance to a cathedral in Bristol.](https://gdb.rferl.org/7ec65c21-1c0b-4dfd-bee9-0c8422be77ec_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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Thames Town features a 66-meter-tall church that bears a striking resemblance to a cathedral in Bristol.
![While houses in Thames Town sold quickly after it opened in 2006, most were bought as investments or second homes, and few owners are said to live there.](https://gdb.rferl.org/673b25be-1484-459c-9b3f-742da0848842_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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While houses in Thames Town sold quickly after it opened in 2006, most were bought as investments or second homes, and few owners are said to live there.
![A man feeds pigeons beneath the onion dome rooftop of St. Sophia Cathedral, a former Russian Orthodox church in Harbin in northeast China. Harbin has opened a "Russian village" to attract tourists across the nearby border.](https://gdb.rferl.org/60486999-92f3-45dd-b869-d687b0c347ec_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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A man feeds pigeons beneath the onion dome rooftop of St. Sophia Cathedral, a former Russian Orthodox church in Harbin in northeast China. Harbin has opened a "Russian village" to attract tourists across the nearby border.