Hangzhou 10 Days Itinerary

📍 Itinerary Overview Who has not heard about Tiandu Cheng, this "fake Paris" built by the Chinese entrepreneur Guangsha? At that time, in 2007, its construction did a name of itself with its Haussmanian buildings, the 1/3 replica of the Eiffel Tower and its French-style park borrowed from the Château de Versailles. Amused and often condescending, the city fortunately had the good taste to be a stinging urban failure, proving that Paris could not be imitated and above all that these Chinese, despite all their money and their disproportionate projects, could not match the art of living in the City of Light. It is true that 5 years after the end of its construction, Tiandu Cheng had only 2000 inhabitants out of the 10,000 expected and that it was on the - long - list of Chinese ghost towns. But what about today? From fantasy to reality on the ground It has often been said that Tiandu Cheng was intended to be a luxury real estate project for a superior class who, without sufficient means or time to travel, wanted to reach the European standard of living and quality of life, at least in their dreams. However, this was a misunderstanding of the reality on the ground. Paris for a luxury clientele? First of all, at the time of its construction, housing needs were acute. Tiandu Cheng is located in the suburbs of Hangzhou, which has a population of nearly 10 million and one of the richest cities in China. Major plans to renew and modernize housing in the city centre that were unhealthy - or declared as such by private entrepreneurs who did not hesitate to engage in corruption - forced thousands of people to relocate elsewhere. As a result, many of them were allocated 1, 2 or even 3 dwellings in Tiandu Cheng depending on the size of the household, as compensation for the loss of their original accommodation. From this follows two things. The first is that the vacancies did not mean that they had not found a buyer, but that there were simply not enough of them to occupy all the apartments they had become owners. Moreover, if several units at a time were allocated to a household as compensation for a single apartment, it is easy to understand that they were therefore much cheaper than the one in the city centre. Tiandu Cheng was therefore never intended for a luxury clientele and was never sold as such! Because despite their sculptures on the facade, the services of these apartments are extremely basic, they are small with a maximum of 70 m2 and the buildings do not even have an elevator. Not to mention the fact that at the time, Tiandu Cheng was lost in the middle of the fields in an area that was still mainly rural and where it was not at all chic to go and live! In China, nothing is more classic than a real estate complex per 10,000 inhabitants It is often said that in China you have to multiply everything by 10. This adage obviously applies to real estate developments that are still flourishing at an incredible rate today! #tianducheng #china #localguides