Inside China’s ‘failed’ $1 billion copy of Paris

It looks exactly like Paris, but it’s not. It’s in China and, while it’s been branded “strange”, these tourists were pleasantly surprised by what they discovered.

A group of friends took it upon themselves to explore what is known as China’s “failed $1b copy of Paris” following rumours it was a “ghost town” – and were pleasantly surprised by what they discovered.

Tianducheng is a luxury real estate development in Zhejiang province, located on the eastern coast of China.

It was constructed back in 2007 to evoke classical European charm and quickly became known as the “Paris of the East” with the area having its own Arc de Triomphe, Champs Elysées main square and of course Eiffel Tower – the second largest replica in the world after the Paris Las Vegas Hotel in Nevada.

While it boasts all things you’d expect to find in the City of Love, including blocks of Parisian style architecture, fountains and landscape, the Guangsha Group development company struggled to sell the properties. It was deemed a ghost town, also largely due to where it was situated, some 145km from Shanghai.

Tianducheng is a luxury real estate development in China that’s a carbon copy of Paris.

However, since then it has expanded several times and, while many of its homes remain vacant, it’s now home to around 30,000 people.

Some say given its size and potential, the city still gives off the feel of being abandoned.

But, according to Yes Theory – a group of YouTuber’s who recently visited Tianducheng – the housing estate is surprisingly thriving – to an extent.

“It’s interesting. People online seemed to make me believe that this place was basically abandoned and maybe a few years ago it was way less inhabited than what it is now,” French content creator Thomas Brag, who is part of the group, said.

“People seem to be coming out. Hanging out. There’s more life.

The ‘Eiffel Tower’ is the second largest replica in the world after the Paris Las Vegas Hotel in Nevada.

It was built in 2007 and boasts all things you’d expect to find in the City of Love, including blocks of Parisian style architecture and fountains.

“It’s less eerie and strange and deserted. And it actually feels like people exist here. I thought this whole story would be going into an abandoned copy of Paris, but instead we want to move here.”

At the start of the viral clip, however, Thomas and his channel co-hosts, Matt Dalhia, Derin Emre and Staffan Taylor, were shocked they didn’t spot a single soul – branding the town “weird”.

“There is no one here. This street is called Champs-Elysees. What the heck? It’s just kind of eerie because there’s really no one in like an iconic monument area,” Thomas said.

As they continued their walk through the streets of “Paris”, they “couldn’t get over” how much it replicated the popular city.

Yes Theory YouTuber Thomas Brag, from France, wanted to know if the online rumours of it being abandoned were true.

“I am processing it all,” Thomas said, with the group adding how “insane” it was.

As they soaked up what was around them – come evening, the entire vibe and feel of the estate changed,

“When we first arrived, we weren’t too sure what to feel,” Thomas said.

“The streets were mostly empty, but it was also only 11am and likely people were at work or just at home.”

With confusion, however, they just kept going hoping to find some people to talk to.

They bumped into a few locals as cafes and restaurants starting to come to life just as the sun went down.

“I am getting so inspired because there were some people in Sweden who said ‘don’t go to China’. [But] you can’t talk about an entire country when it comes to the people and humanity … it’s such a pure moment you can't find on the internet,” Staffan said following a wholesome encounter with an elderly woman.

He and his co-hosts were pleasantly surprised by what they discovered. At first there was not a person in sight but as the day went on, the locals emerged.

And they saw a side, they said, you don’t see much of online.

“You have to go and travel and have the medicine as the travelling.”

In the evening the estate came to life with the crew experiencing a completely different energy as they enjoyed eating crepes by the ‘Eiffel Tower’.

“We got to see a side of it that I guess the news maybe didn’t stick around long enough to see,” Thomas said, adding it’s a very community and family-orientated environment.

“Kids are safe enough to roam around the streets even without their parents.”

They said the city came alive and boasts a real community and family-friendly vibe.

Thomas also got to dance with locals in front of the ‘Eiffel Tower’.

Yan, a local woman who acted as the boys’ translator said the media tends to just report on politics and less about ordinary people.

“We found ourselves dancing with locals in front of a copy of my home country’s most famous landmark,” Thomas said at the end of the clip.

“As strange as the situation itself is, as a plot twist travel memory, it couldn’t have been any better.”

Tianducheng isn’t the only city in China with an uncanny familiarity.

Replicas of other famed locales from around the world include Venice, New York and London and even Santorini in Greece.

“Entire townships and villages appear to have been airlifted from their historical and geographical foundations in England, France, Greece, the United States, and Canada and spot-welded to the margins of Chinese cities,” according to Bianca Bosker, author of Original Copies: Architectural Mimicry in Contemporary China.

“While it once considered itself to be the centre of the world, now China is making itself into the centre that actually contains the world,” Bosker said.

However, in the case of Tianducheng – due to its unfavourable location, interest and occupancy, the city reportedly didn’t reach expected levels, which gave it the “ghost town” nickname.