Monday, June 20, 2011

Copycat

We've heard that China can copy a lot of things: ipad, crocs, camera, village. Yes, you heard me: a village. An Austrian village called Hallstatt, which is part of UNESCO world heritage.

The Chinese did it by acting as tourists visiting the place, taking tons of pictures and measurements before starting the construction in Guandong province back in April. Some of the drawings are mirrored, probably to avoid copyright issues. I suppose you cant stop people taking pictures and copying your village, but a more upfront approach would be nice.

There are plenty of people felt Big Brother is watching because of what the Chinese did, something that is probably rather normal in China but not in Hallstatt.

Now I am curious what else would the Chinese copy

2 comments:

colson said...

The explosion of Chinese energy is admirable.

And I like the idea of copying a famous monument or city. Venice or the Empire State Building in China. Great. Or the Cathedral of Reims at the centre of Beijing or the Pyramids just outside Shanghai :). Actually also it is possible to order a ( usually extremely convincing) copy of famous paintings which are produced in a painters' factory in China.

And, well, the Japanese did it the same way some forty - eighty years ago. Copycat proved to be very productive animal.

triesti said...

I guess they have too much money to burn.. they have impressive buildings already like the bird nest, the CCTV building. I think OMA did some impressive future city models for china before.