“If you visit Tianducheng, a day trip from Shanghai, in China’s Zhejiang province, you will be confronted by a 354 foot replica of the Eiffel tower. Development on this Paris replica in China began in 2007, but local media say it is a ghost town now. Everyone points to China’s ghost towns as proof of a malaise in China’s property sector. But some, like Stephen Roach, former chairman of Morgan Stanley Asia have argued that these cities will become “thriving metropolitan areas” as China continues to urbanize. What’s truly quirky about these ghost towns though is that some of them have been designed as replicas of Italian, German, English and French towns”. – Mamta Badkar

A man rides a motorcycle past a replica of the Eiffel Tower at the Tianducheng development in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province August 1, 2013. Tianducheng, developed by Zhejiang Guangsha Co. Ltd., started construction in 2007 and was known as a knockoff of Paris with a scaled replica of the Eiffel Tower standing at 108 metres (354 ft) and Parisian houses. Although designed to accommodate at least 10 thousand people, Tianducheng remains sparsely populated and is now considered as a “ghost town”, according to local media. (Aly Song/Reuters)

An aerial view of Tianducheng, a residential area on the outskirts of Hangzhou in east China’s Zhejiang Province September 1, 2007. After five years of development by Zhejiang Guangsha Co. Ltd., around 2,000 residents now live in Tianducheng, local media reported. (Aly Song/Reuters)

Workers fix the bricks on the pathway at Tianducheng, a residential area on the outskirts of Hangzhou in east China’s Zhejiang Province September 1, 2007. (Aly Song/Reuters)

A boy sits in front of a fountain at Tianducheng, a residential area on the outskirts of Hangzhou in east China’s Zhejiang province September 1, 2007. (Aly Song/Reuters)

An aerial view of Tianducheng, a residential area on the outskirts of Hangzhou in east China’s Zhejiang Province September 1, 2007. (Aly Song/Reuters)

A man rides his motorcycle past a replica of the Eiffel Tower at the Tianducheng development in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province August 1, 2013. (Aly Song/Reuters)

A man rides his motorcycle past a replica of the Eiffel Tower at the Tianducheng development in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province August 1, 2013. (PAly Song/Reuters)

A lightning bolt streaks across the sky above a replica of the Eiffel Tower at the Tianducheng development in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province August 1, 2013. (Aly Song/Reuters)

A lightning bolt streaks across the sky above a replica of the Eiffel Tower at the Tianducheng development in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province August 1, 2013. (Aly Song/Reuters)

A man sits under a tree at the Tianducheng development in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province August 1, 2013. (Aly Song/Reuters)

People walk past a fountain at the Tianducheng development in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province August 1, 2013. (Aly Song/Reuters)

A woman walks past a supermarket at the Tianducheng development in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province August 1, 2013. (Aly Song/Reuters)

A resident stands on the balcony of his apartment at the Tianducheng development in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province August 1, 2013. (Aly Song/Reuters)

Workers shower at a construction site in Tianducheng, a residential area on the outskirts of Hangzhou in east China’s Zhejiang Province September 1, 2007. (Aly Song/Reuters)

A view of the Tianducheng development in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province August 1, 2013. (Aly Song/Reuters)

A farmer’s house is seen near a replica of the Eiffel Tower at the Tianducheng development in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province August 1, 2013. (Aly Song/Reuters)

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