Windows of the World

I am looking out over the Eiffel Tower.  It is surrounded by a modest approximation of a Roman coliseum.  A golden octopus, sporting a red Christmas cap sits within the entrance to this structure and behind him, the three large flat screens continuously beam a Microsoft Windows logo.  To the right is a row of vaguely Germanic buildings that might be made of gingerbread. As the Chinese characters suggest, this place is called, “Windows of the World.” 

 

World travel is a luxury.  If you can’t afford to go to Munich, or Pompeii or the Seventh Arrondissement then this may well be a satisfying first foray.  My hotel, in the up and coming Nanshan district of Shenzhen, has an uninterrupted view out my window on to their worldly window.  There are some people within, milling about.   China is never at a loss for people.  But the crowds are thin and the monorail that circles around and around is empty, every time. 

 It would be interesting to secure a transcript of the meeting in which the decisions were made as to which parts of the world the park would provide windows into.  I presume the mini Eiffel Tower was the showpiece around which everything else was built.  But whose call was it on precisely which other complementary pieces of international verisimilitude should then be built.  Did anyone ask whether the miniature statue of David might be compromised by the giant golden octopus?  Was there a worldly traveler or two who insisted on accuracy and balance that was shouted down during the planning meeting and told: “No one cares.” “Who is going to know any better?”

Off in the distance is the more significant construction of the Shenzhen Bay Bridge over to Hong Kong.  With two graceful support structures bent at an angle there were, no doubt, aesthetic debates around that project as well.  We almost bought a place over there in Tin Shui Wai.  The heavy-set developer was ready to take my money on the spot.  I hesitated, which was probably wise in the short term, though the flats we were considering have probably quadrupled in value. Think of all the years I could have spent staring across the Bay on clear days, considering the Eiffel Tower.