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Poor county's big-bucks landmark replica upsets netizens

FUNING County, east China Jiangsu Province, was the focus of an Internet outcry over the weekend after it built a big-bucks knockoff Sydney Opera House disregarding its poverty.

Named the Swan Bay, the building was the main attraction of the Swan Park for the County. The park covers an area of 233,000 square meters, including an artificial lake of 90,000 square meters.

The cost of the whole project has topped 500 million yuan (US$ 74 million). The two-storey Swan Bay, standing at the waterfront, is actually a hotel and conference facility, boasting luxury suites, and conference halls.

Heated discussions on the Internet focused on the high costs of the project as Funing County is listed among the poorest counties in Jiangsu Province. The county is also the only one in Jiangsu left out of the expressway network. One netizen pointed out that "50 million yuan is a huge amount for a county like Funing," "The money should be put into more urgent use."

It is the second time the county has a constructed replication of a grand landmark building.. Not far away from the Swan Park, stands a knockoff China Pavilion which is a landmark architecture at World Expo park in Shanghai.

The 23 meter high structure was completed in the May, costing about 2 million yuan. "It is of no use," a local villager said. "The government should not spend money like this."


http://news.sina.com.cn/c/2010-09-13/040721089152.shtml



 

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