On this episode of China Uncensored,
building on the success of others.
Hi, welcome to China Uncensored,
I’m your host Chris Chappell.
China: The Middle Kingdom.
Home to many wonders.
The Great Wall of China.
The Terracotta Warriors.
The Classical Gardens of Suzhou.
The...Sphinx?
Uhhh, what’s that doing there?
Well, you see,
modern China has a rich tradition of copying—
from McDnoald’s to Polystation.
And this modern culture of copying
extends to a much grander scale
than you may imagine.
Chinese companies,
and even the Chinese government,
I kid you not,
spends millions on creating knockoffs
of some of the world’s most famous monuments.
As I always say,
copyright infringement is the sincerest form of flattery.
So here are just ten of my personal favorites from China.
Number 10
The Sphinx
I only bring it up again
because there’s not just one Sphinx.
I found at least two,
three,
four,
five—
that one now also has an Iron Man
for some reason—
and six.
Though that last one was a little too good
for the taste of the Egyptian government.
They were concerned it would draw tourists
away from the real Sphinx,
so they complained to Chinese authorities.
And amazingly,
they actually did something about it.
Number 9
The Colosseum
Keeping with the ancient world theme,
the Chinese special region of Macau
maintains its very own Colosseum.
It’s actually in use, too.
The 2,000-seat venue has regular outdoor concerts.
And I’m sure sooner or later,
they’ll start having prisoners of conscience
battle to the death there
for the amusement of officials.
I mean, might as well do something
before they have their organs harvested,
am I right?
I’m kidding of course.
The organs could get damaged.
Number 8
Florence—and also sort of Venice
200,000 square miles of former corn fields in Wuqing
have been converted into an outlet mall village
inspired by...various parts of Italy.
I mean, who needed all those corn fields anyway?
The buildings look kind of like Florence,
but there’s also the Grand Canal from Venice.
Just be careful you don’t fall into the Gap.
Number 7
The Louvre Pyramid
The actual Louvre pyramid in Paris
was designed by a Chinese American architect.
This one in Chongqing,
which is used as a sales office by the way,
is a little less awe inspiring.
Number 6
The Sydney Opera House
and Sydney Harbour Bridge
In Beijing, the capital of China,
comes this capital replica of one of the
most iconic things about Australia.
I just hope they don’t rip off the
second-most iconic thing about Australia.
The Opera House and Harbour Bridge
are part of Beijing World Park—
a 115-acre park that’s home to
a variety of famous world knockoffs.
Number 5
The Kremlin
Another one in Beijing.
Several government offices are here,
including the local weather bureau.
And the Chinese government spent
three and half million dollars on it.
I mean, government offices and wasteful spending d
o just go so well together.
Very likely, it’s inspired by the churches
within Moscow’s Kremlin—
but minus the Christian crosses of course.
Because government offices and religion
do not go so well together.
Number 4
London’s Tower Bridge
While London bridges have the reputation
of falling down, falling down—
this one in Suzhou
seems sturdy enough,
considering it’s twice the size of the original.
See? The original one in London
has a measly two towers,
but the Chinese one has four.
Just be careful:
To get off that highway,
keep an eye out for the Brexit.
It comes up fast.
Number 3
The Eiffel Tower
Though only about a third the height
of the original,
this one in Tianducheng has an advantage:
It has friends in other cities.
Though to be fair,
there are also Eiffel Tower knockoffs in America.
Like that one in Las Vegas. Or that weird one in Queens along the I-495.
Number 2
Arc de Triomphe
Speaking of Parisian triumphs,
here’s a 30-foot tall Arc de Triomphe in Jiangyan.
Which is a little more impressive
than the one in Guangzhou.
And finally, Number 1
Washington, DC
Various knockoffs of the White House
and US Capitol Building
have sprouted up across China.
This one has been all but abandoned
to food vendors.
Too bad they’re only knocking off
America’s buildings,
and not America’s rule of law
or basic freedoms.
But you know what?
There’s something kind of nice about
all these knockoffs.
Most of China’s 1.3 billion citizens
will never travel outside the country.
So when are they going to get a chance
to visit the White House or the Sphinx?
So I kind of applaud Chinese entrepreneurs
for tapping into this market
and bringing some of the world’s great works of art
to the masses.
So which was your favorite?
And what is the next knockoff landmark
you’d like to see in China?
Leave your comments below.
Once again I’m your host, Chris Chappell.
See you next time.