http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/china/8958413/China-to-build-English-market-town.html
Miyun County is to the NE of Beijing and boasts a ski resort!
China is to build a fake English market town where the Chinese language is banned.
The settlement will demand its residents and visitors to speak only English with those caught gossiping in shops or at the bus stop in their native Chinese punished.
"We plan to build in the European architectural style of the English city. The town will be divided into 16 city blocks, with a castle," said senior Miyun County official Wang Haichen.
"When people arrive in the town, it will be like going abroad. They have to get a 'passport' which has to be stamped," he added.
Thames Town on the banks of the Yangtze River near Shanghai was opened amid much fan fare in 2006, boasting mock tutor brick homes, a pub, chippy, privet hedges, manicured lawns and leafy roads.
Five years on however, the complex is a near ghost town and draws mainly newly weds seeking a novel backdrop for their wedding photos.
American English may be more widely taught than The Queen's in Chinese classrooms, but all things British remain a benchmark for style and standards for many Chinese.
Miyun County is to the NE of Beijing and boasts a ski resort!
