Stig Östlund

torsdag, juni 16, 2011

Chinese Secretly Copy Austrian UNESCO Town

The 800-resident town of Hallstatt lies directly an idyllic lake. It was honored as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1997. Apparently they aren't the only ones who like the pretty Alpine village.

An idyllic Austrian village has apparently impressed Chinese architects so much that they have decided to copy it in their own country. But the townspeople living in the UNESCO World Heritage site are unhappy about the plans.



Residents of the Austrian mountain town of Hallstatt, population 800, are scandalized. A Chinese firm has plans to replicate the village -- including its famous lake -- in the southern Chinese province of Guangdong, Austrian media reported this week.

Architects secretly set their sights on the picturesque town in recent months, said Mayor Alexander Scheutz on Wednesday. "The people are not very amused that this has happened behind their backs," he told German news agency DPA.

The leader of the lakeside town in the picturesque Salzkammergut region heard about the plans coincidentally in May through an Austrian economic delegation in Hong Kong where the Chinese real estate company responsible inquired about arranging a partnership between the two cities.

But a few days ago Scheutz discovered what he called an "indiscretion" -- the plans for the Chinese version of Hallstatt were apparently far more advanced than he'd been led to believe. "I'm stunned, but not outraged," the mayor said. He has since alerted both UNESCO and national authorities.

DER SPIEGEL

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