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A Chinese copy of a scenictown in Austria has shown great potential for businessopportunities despite controversy over the project's allegedplagiarism. Located in suburban Boluo county, Huizhou city in southernGuangdong province, the replica of the centuries-old Hallstatt hasbeen open to visitors only a dozen days, yet many of the homes inthe residential complex have already been snapped up. Of the 400 villas constructed in the 20,000-square-meterEuropean-style town, 150 have been sold, for an average price of9,000 yuan (1,425 U.S. dollars), double the average housing pricein the county seat of Boluo. More small and medium-sized apartments will follow in the town incoming years, according to Shi Lingyun, executive deputymanager-general of the Huizhou branch of the project's developer,the China Minmetals Corporation. Meanwhile, the firm has decided to take a step further and buildthe town, initially conceived as a straightforward medium andhigh-end housing complex, into a commercial district and tourismattraction. Some stores, including wedding photography studios and bars, haveagreed to enter into the town's central area -- in which assistedliving facilities had originally been planned -- and more"mature brands" will be brought in, said Shi. Shi also noted possibilities of turning the town into a new tourismdestination in the Pearl River Delta, a world-renownedmanufacturing hub. The 6-billion-yuan replica, regarded as a bold example of China'sknock-off culture, has won instant fame as it has drawn both wowsand discontent at home and abroad after being announced a year ago.That chatter seems to have proven a positive PR exercise for thepeople behind it. The controversy has also benefited Hallstatt, which was listed as aworld natural heritage site by UNESCO in 1997. In 2005, only 47 Chinese people visited the lake-side Austrianvillage.The number skyrocketed to 8,700 six years later, MartinWoller, an official with the Austrian Consulate-General inGuangzhou, said when he and Hallstatt mayor Alexander Scheutz flewto China earlier this month to attend a ceremony for the project. He said the surge in tourist numbers was "unexpected" andnoted goings-on in Boluo county were Hallstatt's "bestadvertisement in China." He said as Austrians, they are honored to have an Austrian-styletown on the opposite side of the world. His tone was echoed by themayor in an ebullient speech delivered at the ceremony. 1 2. I am an expert from SPOT-LEDLIGHT.com, while we provides the quality product, such as LED Rigid Bar , China LED panel light, LED Spotlight,and more.
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