China's Hallstatt Replica: Guangdong's Billion-Dollar Town
I Went to China’s Billion-Dollar Copy of a European Town
In 2012, a replica of Austria’s UNESCO World Heritage site Hallstatt was opened in China’s Guangdong Province. Built for nearly 1 billion US dollars, the town was developed by the country’s largest mining company, Minmetals Corporation.
While visiting nearby Shenzhen, I decided to check out this unusual copy of one of Austria’s most famous towns.
--- Cori Ander
June 26, 2025, Summer in China
