World Travels An English-native-speaking expatriate, Warren Rodwell has lived in Asia for most of this century; having taught university in China, and written / edited hardcopy magazines. World travels include: UK-Europe-Middle East-Asia-Australia and Latin America

Thames Town

CHINA | Tuesday, 7 April 2009 | Views [1548]

Thames Town is the English name for a new town in Songjiang, about 30 km from central Shanghai, China and situated on the Yangtze River. It is named after the River Thames in England. The architecture both imitates and is influenced by classic English market town styles. There are cobbled streets, Victorian terraces, corner shops - empty as in an abandoned film set. Some of the architecture has been directly copied from buildings found in England, including the church (copied from one in Clifton, Bristol) and a pub and fish and chip shop (copied from buildings in Lyme Regis, Dorset). The picturesque church and main square makes an idyllic backdrop for many Chinese Wedding photos. Songjiang City is one of nine new towns being built outside of Shanghai as part of the 1 city-9 towns initiative passed by the Shanghai Planning Commission in 2001. All 9 new towns are themed: Swedish, English, Italian, Spanish, American, Dutch, German, traditional Chinese, and an ecological town called Lingang. The Town was designed to house approximately 10,000 people and cost 5 billion yuan to construct.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thames_Town