CHINA CREATES COPY OF PARIS WHICH IS NOW ABANDONED

A content creator set out to explore one of China's rumoured abandoned real estate projects that was inspired by Paris and documented his experience. While visiting the second-most populous country in the world, Thomas, a member of the YouTube channel Yes Theory, decided to investigate one of China's less well-known cities.

The makers of the viral video discovered that China had attempted to imitate several well-known cities with its numerous grand real estate projects, but only one had attracted their attention. Since Thomas is French, he was fascinated by Tianducheng, a Chinese city that is modelled after Paris. He suggested that the city appears deserted based on the images and articles he was reading, pointing out that there isn't any "up-to-date, reliable insight" on it today.

However, Matt Dalhia and Derin Emre, two other channel co-hosts, accompanied the content creator on his travels, so he wasn't travelling alone.

After being shown to their hotel room upon arrival in the city, they observed the lobby's replicas of well-known paintings before going to the balcony to experience a recreation of that well-known Parisian scene. Thomas clarified that in order to get around and interact with locals, they hired Yan, a local content creator.

Derin described the city as "weird," but the group quickly pointed out that it was not abandoned at all, as many people reside in the city that is modelled after Paris.

Because there weren't as many people around the fake Eiffel Tower as there would have been in the real Paris, Matt described the sight as "eerie." The streets were almost deserted during the day, despite the sight of clothing slung over balconies.

The YouTubers ate a traditional Chinese meal in front of the replica Eiffel Tower, which is three times smaller than the real one. After that, they danced with some of the warm and inviting locals.

The creators were astounded by the view and continued to explore, and as the sun sank, more residents emerged to clog the streets. Because there weren't as many people around the fake Eiffel Tower as there would have been in the real Paris, Matt described the sight as "eerie."

The streets were almost deserted during the day, despite the sight of clothing slung over balconies.

The YouTubers ate a traditional Chinese meal in front of the replica Eiffel Tower, which is three times smaller than the real one. After that, they danced with some of the warm and inviting locals.

Thomas and Matt played with some of the local children at night, after which the former admitted that the positive experience caught him off guard: "In a story where we were expecting to be exploring an abandoned city, we found ourselves dancing with locals in front of a copy of my home country’s most famous landmark."After playing with a few of the neighbourhood kids at night, Thomas and Matt said that the positive experience had taken them by surprise: "Instead of what we had anticipated—exploring an abandoned city—we ended up dancing with the locals in front of a replica of the most well-known landmark in my home country."

The city's concept originated in 2007 when real estate firms sought to develop farmland into a new major city that would appeal to buyers looking for a "unique and aesthetically pleasing environment."

It was part of a trend where China reinterpreted London's Tower Bridge as well as Venice.

However, Tianducheng's unfavourable location meant that interest and occupancy for the city fell short of projections, giving it the “ghost town” nickname.