ERAIKUNTZAK

Published by DEIA, July 28, 2011



Anyone that knows me knows that in my house the subject of the construction has always had a preponderant paper in our lives. Furthermore, from childhood I have been amazed by the big constructions, bridges and, of course, the works of ancient civilizations: The Egyptian and American pyramids, the big castles, the Great Wall of China…

And talking about China, I have just read an amazing article, the metallurgic Chinese company Minmetals carries out a project that seems to be as if it just came out of a fantasy movie. It’s about constructing in Guangdong, a province south of China, a perfect copy of Hallstatt, an Austrian town of almost 1,000 inhabitants. They are copying it house by house, street by street and even they have even taken into account the lake that bathes the aforementioned Austrian town and that, of course, will count on his counterpart in Guangdong. The metallurgic company curiously advertises this project as a "sophisticated residential area based on the European-style". The Hallstatt's inhabitants, since 1999 holds the World Heritage Site for Cultural Heritage, are perplexed and some are very upset with only the fact of copying exactly their town. But there are others who think this will be a great tourist claim for this locality of the Austrian Alps.

Everything in this life is relative. The same ones that copy an entire town are able to carry out a pharaonic work like the longest bridge over the sea in the world. I have visited in several occasions Chinese cities and the most characteristic is the sensation of enjoying so many different contrasts in every moment. The country that has developed to the bitter end the art of plagiarism is at the same time leader in far-reaching projects and it is that, as well said the quote "United we stand" and in the case of the Chinese society this affirmation acquires a principal importance. Well taken it is proven that the one that copies also can create. As in other fields... better not getting carried away by appearances.

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