China builds replica of Austrian village
A replica of one of Austria’s most picturesque villages has opened in China.
The US$940 million clone of Hallstatt – a UNESCO-listed town in the Austrian Alps, was conceived by a Chinese mining tycoon, who liked the town so much he decided to build the 1km² replica near Huizhou, in southern China’s Guangdong province.
The development has not been without controversy however; residents of the original Hallstatt were reported not amused at the attempt to copy their unique home. But the reaction from locals has been decidedly warmer.
“The moment I stepped in here, I felt I was in Europe,” the Shanghai Daily reported one Huizhou resident as saying. “The security guards wear nice costumes. All the houses are built in European style.”