China has a habit of, in the middle of nowhere, building itself full-scale replicas of some of the world’s premier cities. Now a New York woman reportedly wants to return the favor.
And the current plan is, well, a long-shot at best.
Sherry Li, of China City of America, is leading a group of Chinese investors who aim to transform 600 acres of land near the economically depressed upstate New York towns of Thompson and Mamakating into a sprawling mega-city. Renderings of the proposal show plans for 1,000 houses, a university and a China-themed retail center, the architecture of which would be rooted in the country’s traditional design. Li claims the project could draw $6 billion in investment.
But even as the plans seem to take a bit more shape, the proposal has a host of other issues before the first bulldozer gets started: zoning permits, burdening U.S. taxpayers and getting locals on board. The latter, based on video footage from Li’s presentation in May, has already proven difficult.