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China's $1 billion ‘British' town is as bonkers as it sounds

China's $1 billion ‘British' town is as bonkers as it sounds

Back in 2006 when Tony Blair was PM, over in China, the first residents were moving into Thames Town.
A purpose-built suburban community outside Shanghai, Thames Town had a unique selling point: it was a copycat British market town right down to its mock-Tudor homes, red phone booths, fish and chip shop and Gothic Revival church.
Part of a state-backed plan to relieve pressure on Shanghai's swelling city centre, Thames Town didn't take off. Homes were sold, but largely to investors, and most remained empty.
The promise of an idealised British-style community – of pints in the pub and boating on the ornamental lake – quietly faded. After that, according to online reports, Thames Town became something of a tourist oddity, and found a new lease of life as a backdrop for wedding photos. Now, nearly two decades on, I decided to take a look.
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