Knock-on effect of China’s knock-offs?

Imitation is the sincerest from of flattery, so the west should be chuffed that Chinese cities boast of 10 White Houses, an entire Austrian town and a Parisian arrondissement complete with an Eiffel Tower, besides four Arcs de Triomphe, a double-span version of London’s Tower Bridge and much more.

While it may be cathartic to criticise China for its prowess at knock-offs, it is hardly the first or last country to copy other nations’ landmarks. Americans, after all, built themselves Rome’s Colosseum, Venice’s Rialto Bridge, Paris’ Eiffel Tower and Arc Triomphe, and even the Taj Mahal in Las Vegas first.

China merely borrowed the idea — and built on it. India also has its share of knock-offs, such as a Big Ben in the middle of a road in Kolkata. Besides encouraging domestic tourism, it needs to be ascertained whether these foreign knock-offs encourage Chinese to journey forth abroad to see the real ones.


In that case, those countries should consider sponsoring knock-offs in other target markets too. Copyright issues have been raised in China, notably by the late architect Zaha Hadid, but that has not deterred their copycats. So, Indian builders could perhaps take a leaf out of the Chinese copybook when it comes to making ‘authentic replicas’ of major western cities — right down to the flora and fauna — for aspirational gated residential developments.