Joshua Nair
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.
Thomas, who is part of YouTube channel Yes Theory, set out to explore one of China's more obscure cities while they were visiting the world's second-most populous nation.
In the introduction of the viral video, it's revealed that China had actually tried to replicate a number of famous cities through its several ambitious real estate schemes, but one caught the creator's eye.
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Thomas is from France, and so he was intrigued by China's take on Paris - a city called Tianducheng.
He noted that there isn't any 'up to date, reliable insight' on the city today, suggesting that it looks abandoned from the photos and articles he was reading.
The content creator wasn't alone though, as he was joined by fellow channel co-hosts, Matt Dalhia and Derin Emre on his travels.
Arriving in the city and being showed to their hotel room, they noted the replicas of famous paintings in its lobby, before heading to the balcony and getting a recreation of that famous Parisian view.
Thomas explained that they enlisted the help of a local content creator named Yan to show them around and communicate with locals.
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Derin called the city 'weird', with the group first noting that it wasn't abandoned at all, as numerous people live in the Paris replica city.
Matt called the sight of the fake Eiffel Tower 'eerie' as there weren't huge crowds surrounding it, like in the real Paris.
Despite seeing clothes hanging on balconies, the streets were near empty in the day.
After having a traditional Chinese lunch in front of the fake Eiffel Tower, which is three times smaller than the original, the YouTubers even danced with some of the locals, who were very friendly and welcoming.
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Taken aback by the view, the creators kept exploring, and as the sun set, more locals came out to fill the streets.
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."
The idea behind the city started in 2007, when real estate companies aimed to turn farmland into a new major cities, targeted at homebuyers seeking a 'unique and aesthetically pleasing environment'.
It followed a trend, where China created its own take on Venice and even Tower Bridge in London.
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But due to Tianducheng's unfavourable location, interest and occupancy for the city didn't reach expected levels, which gave it the 'ghost town' nickname.