Not happy with cloning watches, iPods, trains and even combat airplanes, the Chinese are now cloning an entire European city. And not any city, but the mountain town of Hallstatt, Austria, a UNESCO World Heritage site.


The Chinese will replicate absolutely everything, not only the buildings. Every detail, statue and doorknob will be replicated. Even the old church, which has prompted the Catholic priest in town to say that the new church should be "declared a place of prayer" like the original. Knowing the Chinese government aversion to Catholicism and religion in general, I bet that will not happen.


The citizens of Hallstatt are not amused either. Their Mayor, however, says it will be good promotion for tourism.

While this is not the first time the Chinese are cloning architecture—they have mini-me versions of Barcelona or Venice—it's the first time they are going to actually reproduce an entire town. [Spiegel]