Chinese secretly copy Austrian town

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Chinese secretly copy Austrian town
A group of Austrians whose scenic mountain village has been copied down to the statues by a Chinese developer attended Saturday's opening in China for the high-end residential project but were still miffed about how the company did it.

Minmetals Land Inc.'s replica of Hallstatt, a quaint Austrian alpine hamlet, is located in subtropical southern China.

The original is a centuries-old village of 900 and a UNESCO heritage site that survives on tourism. The copycat is a housing estate that thrives on China's new rich. In a China famous for pirated products, the replica Hallstatt sets a new standard.

The Chinese Hallstatt features a church spire, a town square ringed by pastel-colored buildings and angel statues. They're among architectural flourishes inspired by the original, a centuries-old village of 900.

Members of the Hallstatt delegation said they were proud to be copied but also disappointed with the way it was done.

"They should have asked the owners of the hotel and the other buildings if we agree with the idea to rebuild Hallstatt in China, and they did not," hotel owner Monika Wenger said ahead of the opening ceremony. "And that was a big problem we had with this project here."

People in Hallstatt first learned a year ago of Minmetals' plan when a Chinese guest at Wenger's hotel who was involved with the project inadvertently spilled the beans. Minmetals staff had been taking photos and gathering data while mingling with tourists, raising suspicions among villagers.
Minmetals Land is the real estate development arm of China Minmetals Corp., China's largest metals trader.

Wenger said she was "disappointed" the company didn't ask permission.

Mayor Alexander Scheutz, who signed a cultural exchange agreement Saturday with the new Hallstatt, was more diplomatic, saying "we are very proud."

While construction was continuing at the Chinese project, in Guangdong province's Huizhou city, about 60 kilometers (100 miles) from Hong Kong, the site was already open to visitors.

But some were skeptical the copycat version would ever match the beauty of the original, a scenic jewel with hill-hugging chalets, elegant church spires and ancient inns all reflected in the deep still waters of an Alpine lake

"Chinese architecture is very characteristic and stylish," said Zhong Ping, a Huizhou resident. "Just work on your own style. Why do you have to copy others? Even the flowers are fake, I can tell they are fake at first glance."

- SAPA

http://www.news24.com/Travel/Chinese-secretly-copy-Austrian-town-20120604
 
This is the result of two things it seems:

1) There doesn't seem to be any taboo or shame in completely ripping off other people's work, which is weird. Wouldn't you want to be proud of something you made yourself rather than something you just copied off someone smarter than you?

Which leads to...

2) The Chinese seem to have lost their own style and can't design for shit. Just look at the Chinese cars they're making that aren't BMW X5 copies or whatever -- they're ridiculously ugly!
 
This is the result of two things it seems:

2) The Chinese seem to have lost their own style and can't design for shit. Just look at the Chinese cars they're making that aren't BMW X5 copies or whatever -- they're ridiculously ugly!
I suppose that they would say 'distinctive'.
 
Copy under one of the pictures in the linked article says the village was opened on Sunday.

I think what you are suffering is China Headline Repetition Syndrome, characterised by the phrase "Yo, dawg, we heard you like stories about the Chinese copying shit, so we copied an articles........" and soon.
 
Austrian village.... British town.... Copying euro cars...Are they doing it with an eye to the future.... European refugees.....Australian refugees (I bet they have kangaroos there)...:lol: Help, I don't wanna be Chinese
 
As they started building this in mid-2011 and it was opened June 2012, its not really *that* old.

Well it's 12 months old, so...

Maybe the news didn't really hit where you are some months ago, but I remember it being news here, and I guess in Austria too.
 
Yeah, Wiggy, but every day in Switzerland is a slow news day isn't it?
 
Yes this was on the evening news months ago. The residents were a bit surprised and angry yet happy because of all the publicity drawing tourists, especially from China, to the town.
 
Isn't there also a place in the US or Canada that's basically an Alpine village because most of its residents descend from Austrian settlers?
 
This is the result of two things it seems:

1) There doesn't seem to be any taboo or shame in completely ripping off other people's work, which is weird. Wouldn't you want to be proud of something you made yourself rather than something you just copied off someone smarter than you?

Which leads to...

2) The Chinese seem to have lost their own style and can't design for shit. Just look at the Chinese cars they're making that aren't BMW X5 copies or whatever -- they're ridiculously ugly!

When Japan started making cars they were blatant rip offs styling wise too.

Isn't there also a place in the US or Canada that's basically an Alpine village because most of its residents descend from Austrian settlers?

Here in WA Levenworth is modeled after a sterotypical Bavarian village. Though it was done for tourism in the '60s.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leavenworth,_Washington
 
Chinatown, Oh no, Austriatown
 
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