The Austrian original: Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image! and the Chinese copy: Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image! Article What is the psychological drive behind this? Why copy a town?
Why do we take home souvenirs from trips? I think they liked it, so they copied it, the way an artist copies a landscape
Same reason people build model railroads, doll houses and ships in bottles. Same reason that people build replicas of New York City and Gaza in Las Vegas. Same reason people built the London Bridge in Arizona. Because it's cool.
Halstatt is beautiful. So is the copy. Now the Chinese can experience the beauty without traveling to Austria, which very few of them could afford to do. Obviously it's not the same as being there, but it's a whole lot better than not being there. As I look up from my keyboard I see a wall finished with wood paneling. I know very well that it's not real wood paneling, just a thin sheet fastened to the drywall. (Or maybe they do it some other way, my knowledge in this domain is very close to zero.) But it's still pretty.
Because copying is much cheaper than developing something original. A wise business-man probably visited Austria, came back to China, and sold the idea to investors. When you ask about psychology, it's probably because you overlook basic finance. This is not an art movement, it's a cheap replica.
There's absolutely nothing shocking about this. I've been to MANY towns in the USA that are copies of Asia or Europe.
A sentence from "Trainspotting" stuck with me, it goes in roundabout like this (it's about people who live in Leith, but occasionally go to London): "In London, it is easy to be a jerk. Not because it's London, but because it's not Leith." In the original, or in one's home, one is what one is, with all the, sometimes, dreary awareness of one's faults. Elsewhere, or in a fake environment, it is easier to be a fake and not feel bad about it. There is a tendency toward this kind of escapism among modern people.
Solvang, California. An imitation of an old Scandinavian village. Everyone who drives between Los Angeles and San Francisco stops there. I wouldn't be surprised if it was the most prosperous town in the state. Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!
Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image! There's a place in MI called Frankenmuth. My uncle used to live there. Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!
Minnesota had a huge influx of Scandinavian immigrants in the late 19th century, so it's no surprise that there's a significant Norse culture. I haven't verified this, but it's been said that the "Minnesota/Dakota accent" heard, for example, in the movie "Fargo" has some Scandinavian influence. Solvang, CA, was in fact founded by Danes in the 1910s, but not direct immigrants. They were refugees from the Midwest, looking for a milder winter! I've never been to Denmark, but I have been to Minnesota and I can easily believe that in February it's colder there than in Copenhagen. Edit: Oh sorry, I forgot that MI is Michigan, not Minnesota (MN). But the same remarks probably apply.
