It’s no secret that China is a leader in all things fake, from designer goods to electronics to eggs, yes that’s true, but it’s a topic for another article. Counterfeiting is not only a ubiquitous symbol of China abroad, but also within Chinese culture, insofar as there is a term for it: shān zhài or 山寨, which literally means ‘mountain fortress’, which It implies in this case too high a mountain of fake products. for the authorities to arrive.
The term shanzhai can be applied not only to goods, but also to people (resembling celebrities, either by nature or plastic surgery) and even buildings. Like, say, the Pentagon.
Where in the fake Pentagon of China?
You’ll have to read on to find out exactly what the China Pentagon replica is or why it exists, but a clue to its purpose lies in its location – it’s not in Beijing, but Shanghai, which means it’s definitely not used for national defense. . Another clue is that it is not too far from Shanghai Disneyland, which opened in June 2016.
What is China’s fake Pentagon?
Can you guess the reveal that comes next? Another hint: if you know anything about China, the answer to what exactly the fake China Pentagon is won’t surprise you. Yes, it is true, it is a shopping center.
Specifically, China’s fake Pentagon is called the “Pentagonal Mart,” and it’s actually bigger than the real Pentagon by more than twice – 70 acres versus 34 for Virginia’s. Unfortunately, while the actual Pentagon serves as the headquarters of the US Department of Defense and is an indispensable part of global security on a daily basis, China’s fake Pentagon resembles many of China’s other great buildings from another. way: it is completely empty.
Why is China’s fake Pentagon abandoned?
The most obvious reason that China’s fake Pentagon remains unoccupied is its location. It is located in the Nanhui district, in the southeastern part of the outskirts of Shanghai, away not only from the most concentrated population center of the city, but also from foreign visitors who can take a trip to the false pentagon, if only for gape at him. Combine this with the awkward design (despite the shanzhai ability of architects) and you have a recipe for real estate empty.
Which is not to say that all hope has been lost for the fake Shanghai Pentagon, far from it. Remember earlier in this article, when you learned that the fake Pentagon is located just a few miles from the recently opened Disneyland resort in Shanghai? Well, local officials hope that the overflow from said resort will spill into the area where Pentagonal Mart is located, and give it new life, first in the form of more curious tourists visiting the market and, finally, merchants and other businessmen. who buy and rent stops within it.
Delusions? Undoubtedly. China leads the world in empty buildings, to the extent that some experts characterize the Middle Kingdom as having “ghost towns.” And that’s just the mythology that surrounds them, which says nothing about the biggest implication of all vacant real estate, that is, China is on the cusp of a bubble that makes the 2008 collapse in the United States look like a recession. less.
The bottom line
Hey, if there is going to be a building that defends an entire nation against the threat of destruction, even if it is the destruction of hope in a replica of an iconic building from one of its semi-adversaries, it could be the Pentagon. Speaking of which, where exactly is China’s answer to the Pentagon, you know, the real one, where the day-to-day defense operations take place? Unfortunately, this could be a topic for another article.
