The original Tower Bridge in London, vs the copy bridge in Suzhou, China. The copy is hideous.
Visiting China is always exciting. the country is steeped in its own unique history and has treasures not known in the rest of the world. It is very odd, and disconcerting, when China’s architects blatantly copy world famous foreign landmarks. This is not a new phenomenon and has been going on for many a decade. The most recent case is a copy of London’s famous Tower Bridge, now copied and even embellished in Suzhou.
The London Tower Bridge has history and looks regal. The Suzhou version is out of proportion and looks garish. They topped the towers with gold minarets that make it look more Disney than Queen. The top walkways are covered in a blue roof, not even present on the original. And China doubled the Tower Bridge? Only time will tell whether the citizens of Suzhou will consider this a nice addition to their lovely city.
I have been to Suzhou and it is beautiful. With their numerous canals it looks more like Italy than Britain. Suzhou, as well as Hangzhou, is known for their numerous and world famous Chinese gardens, which I have seen. Their gardens are spectacular.
London’s Tower Bridge is steeped in tradition and is a landmark of, well, London, England.
Suzhou, China’s Tower Bridge is, well, a blatant ripoff of the original London Tower Bridge. This is a travesty of architecture.
With such a endearing reputation for traditional Chinese gardens, why could not Suzhou stretch their Chinese architectural traditional and design something, well, Chinese? I can only shake my head in disgust as I see a lost opportunity to show the world something new in Chinese architecture. Such lofty ideals must be lost on Suzhou politicians.
It is unfortunate that in China, especially Beijing, there is a trend to destroy heritage building and replace them with soulless modern but unChinese structures. Today it is difficult to find traditional Chinese architecture in Beijing. you really need to look hard. I find this very sad that Chinese architecture is not appreciated and is dieing out, all for the push for modernity.
I live in Toronto and we build things big and small. If an architect had come up with a plan to copy a world famous foreign landmark, they would be laughed at in derision. Original work is valued here, and so it should be in China.
