# Paris syndrome (in China)

By [Brandon Donnelly](https://brandondonnelly.com) · 2018-01-12

architecture, cantonese, casino, china, cities, design, francois-prost, gambling, hangzhou, hong-kong, macau, macense, malay, paris, patua, portuguese, tianducheng, uncategorized, urbanism

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French photographer and graphic designer François Prost has a new photo series out that I thought I would share with you today. It’s called “[Paris Syndrome](http://francoisprost.com/portfolio-item/paris-syndrome/)” and I discovered it via CityLab.  

What the series does is visually compare Paris to a housing estate in Hangzhou, China called [Tianducheng](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tianducheng), which was designed to be a replica of Paris. Tianducheng even has its own Eiffel Tower, though this Chinese version is only 108m tall and the French original is 324m.  

![image](https://storage.googleapis.com/papyrus_images/9fdb362447cb017caaaa8a15950f8256.jpg)

Still, in many of [François’ photos](http://francoisprost.com/portfolio-item/paris-syndrome/), you may find it difficult to distinguish between the two (provided you ignore the Chinese people and the Chinese signs). The neighborhood was initially a ghost town, but apparently it’s now starting to fill up.

The reason I mention this photo series is because it reminded me of the day that I spent in [Macau](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macau) last week. I’m not much for gambling – and Macau is firmly the gambling capital of the world with revenues that greatly exceed Las Vegas – but I was curious to see it.  

Similar to Hong Kong, Macau is a Chinese Special Administrative Region with a lot of autonomy. But from 1557 to 1999 it was under [Portuguese administration](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portuguese_Macau). And so historically it has been home to this very unique Eurasian culture spanning everything from food to language. 

I say “historically” because the Macanese and their Patuá language – which is supposedly a blend of Portuguese, Cantonese and Malay – seem to be [on the brink of extinction](https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/jan/10/macau-city-losing-language-china-portuguese-macanese). 

Today it’s all about the casinos. And the demand is firmly coming from mainland China. In 2016, [90% of Macau’s 31 million tourists](https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/jan/10/macau-city-losing-language-china-portuguese-macanese) came from there.

I fully appreciate the demand drivers, but I struggle to understand the allure of replicating and bastardizing attractions from other places. Macau also has an Eiffel Tower, as well as a Venetian (like Las Vegas). You can go for gondola rides in its canals.

The more interesting part for me was the historic center of Macau with its [Portuguese paving](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portuguese_pavement) on the sidewalks. But maybe that’s just me.

_Image:_ [_François Prost_](http://francoisprost.com/portfolio-item/paris-syndrome/)

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*Originally published on [Brandon Donnelly](https://brandondonnelly.com/paris-syndrome-in-china)*