Friday, August 10, 2007

doubling up on the ridiculous





Terracotta or concrete? From the tomb of Emperor Qin Shihuangdi comes the real thing- set to be at the Science Museum in 2009. From the imagination of Ira P. H. Poon, AKA "Mr. Poon," (a Hong Kong real estate mogul) comes the 1/3 replica of the tomb out I-10 in Katy along with versions of the Forbidden City, The Temple of Heaven, The Calming of the Heart Lodge, and the canal city of Suzhou. Can you tell the difference? What would be better, seeing the real thing detached from its' environment and surrounded by advertisements for Starbucks and McDonalds or a faker tourist trap that does weddings?

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