Chinese fakeaway: How the world's most famous buildings - and even whole cities - are being cloned in the Far East
- Brit architect Zaha Hadid planning legal action over knock-off development
- Copies include an Eiffel Tower in Tianducheng and Thames Town in Shanghai
- Replica of the Ronchamp Chapel in France was demolished after outcry
- Copy of the Austrian Alpine town of of Hallstatt sprung up in Huizhou city
Some of the world's leading architects are up in arms as yet more copies of famous Western buildings spring up across in China at an unprecedented rate.
Famous clones have already included the Ronchamp Chapel in France, the Eiffel Tower in Paris - and the entire town of Hallstatt in Austria.
Now British architect Zaha Hadid said she plans to take legal action after her eye-catching Wangjing Soho development in Beijing appears to have been replicated by what she calls 'pirate architects', in the city of Chongqing.
Carbon copy: Part of Hiuzhou city has been deliberately constructed to resemble the Austrian town of Hallstatt
The real thing: The genuine Austrian town which has been ripped off by the Chinese
Hadid had initially appeared relaxed about the idea of look-a-like buildings suggesting it would be 'quite exciting' if the cloned showed innovative mutations of the originals.
However she added: 'It is fine to take from the same well, but not from the same bucket.'
Lawyer Nigel Calvert told the Guardian: 'We will be demanding that the copycats immediately cease construction, change the exterior of the building, offer a public apology and provide compensation.'
Incredibly the cloned version in Chongqing could be completed before the original. The developers have maintained the innocence claiming that the shape of their building had been inspired by cobblestones on the Yangtze River and not by Hadid's creation in Beijing.
According to Shanghai-based lawyer You Yunting, Hadid stands a good chance of receiving compensation but it is unlikely she will see the knock-off buildings torn down.
In the northern Chinese city of Tianjin a 15th century fishing village has been all but bulldozed to make way for a replica Manhattan complete with Rockefeller and Lincoln centres and even a Hudson River
Epic project: However the Chinese have some way to go before competing with the original Manhattan skyline
He told German newspaper Der Spiegel: 'Even if the judge rules in favour of Soho, the court will not force the defendant to pull the building down.'
One rip-off which did get a demolition order was the shameless copy of Corbusier's Ronchamp chapel in France.
The replica version popped up in Zhengzhou capital of the northern central Henan province in the late 1990s but was torn down after a furious response by the Corbusier foundation.
And if the French were upset about Ronchamp, one can only imagine the outrage felt in some sectors of Paris when a replica of the Eiffel Tower suddenly appeared in Tianducheng on the outskirts of Hangzhou in east China's Zhejiang Province.
Another hilarious example is a version of London's iconic Tower Bridge which has been built in the city of Suzhou in the east of China.
The Chinese model has twice as many towers as the original version spanning the River Thames but lacks the drawbridge mechanism. It does however boast a cafe selling 'English-style coffee'.
In an attempt to explain the reasoning behind the copycat buildings, archeologist Jack Carlson believes that far from simply mimicking Western landmarks to appear more cultured, they are in fact an attempt to assert China's global supremacy.
The iconic Tower Bridge is another landmark that has been recreated with a look-a-like version popping up in the city of Suzhou in Jiangsu province
Unlike the original (pictured) the Chinese version of Tower Bridge lacks a raising mechanism
Original: The Ronchamp chapel in France designed by celebrated architect Charles-Édouard Jeanneret, better known as Le Corbusier
Knock-off: The copy that appeared in Zhengzhou capital of the northern central Henan province was torn down after a furious response by the Corbusier foundation
Rip-off: The Eiffel Tower (left) has been cloned on the outskirts of Hangzhou in Zhejiang Province (right)
He writes in Foreign Policy magazine: 'The ancient parallels for these copycat projects suggest that they are not mere follies but monumental assertions of China's global primacy.'
Mr Carlson points to ancient Chinese historian Sima Qian who noted that China's first ruling dynasty the Qin would commission replicas of the palaces and halls of the territories it conquered.
Sadly in some instances it appears the race to mimic the West is coming at the cost of China's own heritage.
In the northern Chinese city of Tianjin a 15th century fishing village has been all but bulldozed to make way for a replica Manhattan complete with Rockefeller and Lincoln centres and even a Hudson River.
The phenomenon of the Chinese copycat buildings is far from new. 'Thames Town', about 19 miles from central Shanghai, a replica of a small town complete with mock-Tudor buildings and UK style red phone boxes, opened in 2006.
It even boasts replica members of the Queen's guard on patrol and statues of Winston Churchill and Harry Potter.
Traditional buildings were copied and pubs and shops were imitated in an attempt to recreate the British way of life.
Developers even fashioned a artificial river to replicate the Thames.
At the time James Ho, the head of one of the companies behind the development, Shanghai Hengde Real Estate, said: 'I wanted the properties to look exactly the same as those in the United Kingdom.
'I think English properties are very special.
'When we decide to learn from others, we should not make any improvements or changes.'
Pirate building: Architect Zaha Hadid said she plans to take legal action after this building which bears suspicious similarities to her Wangjing Soho Building appeared in the City of Chongqing
Spot the difference: The original Wangjing Building in Beijing designed by British architect Zaha Hadid and below the cloned version in the City of Chongqing
However, a development which was designed to house about 10,000 people has not proved as popular as hoped.
Reports claim only a 'handful' of people live there, but the place does attract tourists wishing to take pictures of its English-style architecture.
But the most famous example of Chinese architects ripping off the West is the replica town of Hallstatt, the UNESCO-listed Austrian resort. Welcome which sprung up in Huizhou city in Southern China.
No expense has been spared. The original Alpine buildings have been copied and reproduced with startling precision.
Horse-drawn carriages and flocks of white doves will be imported to lend authenticity. The prices are amazing, too: a new villa here built in the style of a 300-year-old lakeside home is being offered at between £200,000 and £500,000, higher than the real thing in Austria.
And it's not just European -style buildings that are getting cloned. Exclusive enclaves for the super rich are popping up across the country which would not be out of place in the suburbs of Florida.
The sprawling mansions are said to feature luxury in even the tiniest home accessories, like $8,000 faucets and $25,000 light fixtures.
Replica: Thames Town, located 19 miles from Shanghai in China, has been built to look like an English town
Imitation: A cyclist rides past a red telephone box in Thames Town, near Shanghai, modelled on the kiosks found in Britain
American dream, Chinese reality: One of the U.S.-style mansions of the Rose Garden development outside Shanghai, a 9,600 square foot mansion which went on the market priced at $13 million
Country life: Mansions in the Shanghai suburb, the Rose Garden, resemble French country homes
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