Paris or China?: Parisian photographer Francois Prost traveled to Tianducheng, China. This suburb of Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province is a life size replica of Paris, France. Prost produced a photo series comparing the two locations, titled "Paris Syndrome." Pictured here: Left -- Eiffel Tower replica in Tianducheng, China. Right -- Eiffel Tower in Paris.
Courtesy Francois Prost
Musical inspiration: Prost discovered Tianducheng via the music video for "Gosh" -- by musician Jamie xx. He was also inspired by an article by journalist Rosecrans Baldwin, in which Baldwin visited all the American towns called Paris -- investigating whether people living there felt a connection to their town's namesake. Pictured here: Left -- Mona Lisa replica in Tianducheng, China. Right -- Mona Lisa in Paris.
Courtesy Francois Prost
Seeing double: Prost also read up on the concept of "duplitecture" -- when cities are replicated in other places across the world. "I read this and it filtered through my brain somehow," says the photographer. Pictured here: Left -- Parisian block replica in Tianducheng, China. Right -- Parisian block in Paris.
Courtesy Francois Prost
Recreated city: Tianducheng piqued Prost's interest -- he found it both amusing and fascinating that Paris had been recreated across the world: "I was interested in this because I'm French, so I found it very funny to pick up [...] some cultural heritage from my country, and recreate it there," he says. Pictured here: Left -- Parisian block replica in Tianducheng, China. Right -- Parisian block in Paris.
Courtesy Francois Prost
Expectation versus reality: Another inspiration behind Prost's project was the concept of Stendhal Syndrome -- when tourists visit a well-known destination and become overwhelmed by the expectation versus the reality of the city. Pictured here: Left -- urban furniture in Tianducheng, China. Right -- urban furniture in Paris.
Courtesy Francois Prost
Surreal moments: Prost could relate to this concept -- he recalls when he first went to Venice: "Once I got out of the train station, I felt very strange because lots of the scenery I had seen before," he says. "I grew up seeing lots of images from Venice." Pictured here: Left -- city view in Tianducheng, China. Right -- city view in Paris.
Courtesy Francois Prost
Reality and fantasy: Prost recalls this surreal experience vividly -- and says he also experienced it in New York: "I remember I was not really knowing if it was real, it just felt very strange." Pictured here: Left -- replica Versailles, Tianducheng, China. Right -- Versailles.
Courtesy Francois Prost
Excitement of travel: For Prost, this dreamlike feeling is part of traveling: "This phenomenon happens always when you travel, it's what makes the traveling somehow exciting," he says. Pictured here: Left -- replica Latona Fountain, Tianducheng, China. Right -- Latona Fountain, Versailles.
Courtesy Francois Prost
Dual realities: Tianducheng is meticulous in its recreation -- in fact, in Prost's photos, it's not always easy to determine which Paris is "real." Prost says arriving in Tianducheng was eerie: "The first thing I saw was the Eiffel Tower and it looked quite impressive," he says. Pictured here: Left -- replica Eiffel Tower at night in Tianducheng, China. Right -- Eiffel Tower at night in Paris.
Courtesy Francois Prost
Multi-faceted recreation: Tianducheng is a large-scale recreation. "There are three elements in this place. There is the Eiffel Tower, then there is the big Haussmann blocks and then there is a replica of Versailles Garden," explains Prost. Pictured here: Left -- replica Versailles, Tianducheng, China. Right -- Versailles.
Courtesy Francois Prost
Recreated moments: Prost conducted the project by taking photographs in China first, as he wasn't sure what he would find there. He took hundreds of photographs of different locations from different angles. Pictured here: Left -- replica Tuileries Gardens, Tianducheng, China. Right -- Tuileries Gardens in Paris.
Courtesy Francois Prost
Wedding bells: Just like in Paris, Tianducheng is a great spot for a wedding photo. Pictured here: Left -- wedding in replica Paris, Tianducheng, China. Right -- wedding in Paris.
Courtesy Francois Prost
Living conditions: Prost considered visiting other Paris replicas across the world -- but he found he was most interested in the fact ordinary people lived in Tianducheng -- it wasn't just for tourists: "For example in Las Vegas it looks more like an attraction park, with a hotel," he says. Pictured here: Left -- Eiffel Tower pose in Tianducheng, China. Right -- Eiffel Tower pose in Paris.
Courtesy Francois Prost
Ordinary town: During his stay, Prost asked citizens of Tianducheng what they thought of their town's link to Paris. He was surprised by the response. "From what I saw, people lived there as they would live anywhere else in China," he says. "It feels like any other little town in China." Pictured here: Left -- Eiffel Tower souvenirs in Tianducheng, China. Right -- Eiffel Tower souvenirs in Paris.
Courtesy Francois Prost
People and stories: Prost wanted his project to present a comparison between the people living in these two, duplicate locations. "I wanted to see how the people would live there and compare it to Paris -- to see between those two places that are many 15,000 kilometers far away -- to see how they would live in the same environment," says Prost. Pictured here: Left -- cleaning staff in Tianducheng, China. Right -- cleaning staff in Paris.
Courtesy Francois Prost
The Paris factor: When Tianducheng was first built, the prices were extortionate and few lived there. Prices were later lowered and the town became more desirable. Prost thinks that price -- not Paris -- is key to the attraction of Tianducheng: "I think for citizens, I would say they are happy, but they would be happy somewhere else as well," he says. Pictured here: Left -- Parisian block replica in Tianducheng, China. Right -- Parisian block in Paris.
Courtesy Francois Prost
Paris power: The citizens of Tianducheng liked the Eiffel Tower, Prost found -- but overall, the Parisian elements of the town didn't affect their daily lives. Pictured here: Left -- Eiffel Tower fingers in Tianducheng, China. Right -- Eiffel Tower fingers in Paris.
Courtesy Francois Prost
Appeal of Tianducheng: "They liked the place, they liked the Eiffel Tower, they liked the avenues. But I'm not sure it's a complete choice, I'm not sure they came especially because it's Parisian," reflects Prost. Pictured here: Left -- replica Fontaine de l'Observatoire in Tianducheng, China. Right -- Fontaine de l'Observatoire in Paris.
Courtesy Francois Prost
Eye for detail: Prost admired the attention to detail in Tianducheng -- particularly the Parisian-style streets and avenues. "For example they respected the number of floors, the fact the ground floor is supposed to be shops and the second floor belongs to the shop. It's the same in Paris," he explains. Pictured here: Left -- Parisian block replica in Tianducheng, China. Right -- actual Parisian block.
Courtesy Francois Prost
Contrast between old and new: There were some key differences. "Of course it was very strange because it's pretty new, so there's not the oldness that some stones can have in Paris," says Prost. Pictured here: Left -- lamp post in Tianducheng, China. Right -- lamp post in Paris.
Courtesy Francois Prost
Ordinary lives: "What I quite liked in the end is, the place is made by the people living in the place," says Prost. "To me, what I saw there, was people just living there as they would live anywhere else." Pictured here: Left -- replica Versailles fountain in Tianducheng, China. Right -- Versailles fountain in Versailles.
Courtesy Francois Prost
Snapshots of a city: Prost is aware that his work presents a snapshot of life in Tianchendong -- not the full story: "Let's see maybe in 50 years who is going to live there, maybe it's going to be a completely different person and they will make the place probably completely different," says Prost. Pictured here: Left -- replica Louvre statue in Tianducheng, China. Right -- Louvre statue in Paris.
![<strong>Recreated city:</strong> Tianducheng piqued Prost's interest -- he found it both amusing and fascinating that Paris had been recreated across the world: "I was interested in this because I'm French, so I found it very funny to pick up [...] some cultural heritage from my country, and recreate it there," he says. <em>Pictured here: Left -- Parisian block replica in Tianducheng, China. Right -- Parisian block in Paris.</em>](https://media.cnn.com/api/v1/images/stellar/prod/180130155058-francois-prost-china-block-perspective-3.jpg?q=w_1600,h_900,x_0,y_0,c_fill/h_447)
