Fake Landmarks Around the World: 15 Hyper-Realistic Replicas

By Rita

Globalization has infiltrated daily life to such an extent that it’s become almost imperceptible. In the past, cities thrived because of their ports; today, people feel their lives are incomplete without a 7-Eleven. As people move across borders driven by power and imagination, even architecture and artworks are copied. Nowadays, travelers don’t have to go to India to see the Taj Mahal, nor push through crowds at the Louvre to take a “Mona Lisa” back home from China. The world-famous Eiffel Tower even has up to 30 replicas around the globe.

Thrillist has compiled a list of 15 architectural replicas from around the world. Seeing a distant landmark from location A in location B might just surprise you.

1. Statue of Liberty Birmingham, Alabama, USA
Original: New York

▲ Statue of Liberty: Birmingham, Alabama (Photo / Wikipedia)
Like the original, this replica was also cast in France, but Alabama’s Statue of Liberty is only one-fifth the size of the New York version. It stands atop a 60-foot pedestal in Liberty Park.

2. St. Peter’s Basilica Nikko, Japan
Original: Vatican City, Italy

▲ St. Peter’s Basilica: Nikko, Japan (Photo /http://nihonsuki.com/)
Located in the Tobu World Square theme park in Nikko, the park features 102 famous buildings and historical sites from around the world, all reproduced at a 1/25 scale, along with 140,000 miniature figures. In addition to St. Peter’s Basilica, the park also includes the Palace of Versailles, the Colosseum, and the World Trade Center.

3. Foamhenge Virginia, USA
Original: Wiltshire, England

▲ Foamhenge: Virginia (Photo / Wikipedia)

Take a closer look at these stones—they’re actually made of plastic styrofoam. To make them look identical, the sculptor even consulted a psychic to replicate the original arrangement.

4. Taj Mahal Sonargaon, Bangladesh
Original: Agra, India

▲ Taj Mahal: Bangladesh (Photo / Wikipedia)

This replica was funded by Bangladeshi filmmakers with an investment of about $56 million, aiming to allow people of all backgrounds to admire the beauty of the Taj Mahal.

5. Mount Rushmore Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan
Original: South Dakota

▲ Mount Rushmore: Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan (Photo /abandonedkansai.com/)

This is a theme park based on the American Wild West, standing 82 feet tall and scaled down to one-third of the original size. To achieve a certain level of authenticity, the creators used satellite technology to map the terrain, spending $29 million in the process.

6. Parthenon Nashville, Tennessee, USA
Original location: Athens, Greece

▲Parthenon: Nashville, Tennessee (Photo / Wikimedia Commons)

This full-scale replica of the temple was built in 1897 and is also known as the “Athens of the South.” It now serves as an art museum.

7. Trevi Fountain Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
Original location: Rome, Italy

▲Trevi Fountain: Las Vegas, Nevada (Photo /www.panoramio.com/)

They say tossing the first coin into the fountain means you’ll have the chance to return to Rome, the second brings new romance, and the third means you’ll soon be married. But what about tossing coins into the Las Vegas version?

8. Christ the King Lisbon, Portugal
Original location: Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

▲Christ the King: Lisbon, Portugal (Photo /commons.wikimedia.org)

This 90-foot-tall replica was built in 1959 as a way of thanking God for sparing Portugal during World War II.

9. Hallstatt Village Guangdong, China
Original location: Hallstatt, Austria

▲Hallstatt Village: Guangdong Province, China (Photo /liongrass.hk/blog/)

Forget about those landmarks and statues mentioned above—take a look at this bold Chinese project. China built an entire village in Guangdong that’s been listed as a world cultural heritage site, modeled after an Austrian town, spending over $900 million in total.

10. Washington Square Arch New York
Original location: Paris, France

▲Washington Square Arch: New York (Photo /www.nycgovparks.org/)
Actually, the Washington Arch isn’t a replica—but it was definitely inspired by the Arc de Triomphe in Paris. Honestly, the designs look pretty similar anyway.

11. Leaning Tower of Pisa  Illinois, USA
Original location: Pisa, Italy

▲Leaning Tower of Pisa: Niles, Illinois (Photo / Wikipedia)
This 94-foot replica is only half the size of the original Leaning Tower of Pisa. It was built in 1934 to block a water tank, and for this reason, Illinois and Pisa signed a sister city friendship agreement in 1991.

12. Eiffel Tower Durango, Mexico
Original location: Paris, France

▲Eiffel Tower: Durango, Mexico (Photo / Wikipedia)
There are over 30 replicas of the Eiffel Tower around the world, but the one in Mexico is the most accurate. This 1/6 scale version was likely donated by a homesick French immigrant.

13. Tower Bridge Suzhou, China
Original location: London, United Kingdom

▲Tower Bridge: Suzhou, China (Photo /kotaku.com/)

Suzhou claims to have 56 fake Western landmarks, including the Sydney Harbour Bridge, Paris’s Pont Alexandre III, and Tower Bridge. However, Suzhou’s version of Tower Bridge isn’t a full replica — it lacks the four towers and the lifting mechanism.

14. Tomb of Tutankhamun Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
Original location: Valley of the Kings, Egypt

▲Tomb of Tutankhamun: Las Vegas, Nevada (Photo from /http://www.vegasinpictures.com/)

This tomb was originally built inside the Luxor Hotel and was later donated to the Las Vegas Natural History Museum with official approval. It contains 500 replicated ancient artifacts, but no mummy.

15. Mona Lisa Shenzhen, China
Original location: Paris, France

▲Mona Lisa: Shenzhen, China (Photo /http://www.examiner.com/)

In Dafen, China’s painting village, you won’t find crowds of tourists — you’ll have plenty of time to observe this world-famous artwork before you decide to “buy the Mona Lisa.” Since the 1990s, Dafen has been famous for its highly accurate art reproductions.