CHINA THE COPYCAT
The country’s nouveau riche buy a paint-by-numbers piece of America,
JACKSON HOLE, CHINA— Yearning to breathe untainted air, the band of harried urbanites flocked to this parched, wild land, bringing along their dreams of a free and uncomplicated life.
But unlike the bedraggled pioneers who settled the American West two centuries ago, the first inhabitants of Jackson Hole, a resort community on the outskirts of the Chinese capital, arrived by Audi and Land Rover, their trunks filled with French wine and their bank accounts flush with cash.
During the past decade, more than1,000 families have settled into timber-frame houses with generous backyards, on streets with names like Aspen, Moose and Route 66. On Sundays, some worship at a clapboard church that anchors the genteel town square, outfitted with bronze cowboys and a giant Victrola that sprays water.
“America represents wilderness and freedom, and also a big house,” said Qin You, 42, who works in private equity and owns a six-bedroom home that features a koi pond, a year-round Christmas tree and what he proudly described as “American-style” electric baseboard heating. “The United States is cool.”
Welcome to “Hometown America,” as Jackson Hole is called in Chinese, a mammoth real-estate venture that is an exacting pastiche of an American frontier town, albeit one with a wine-tasting pavilion, a New Age spa and security guards dressed as park rangers, who salute every passing car.
Modest entry-level homes sell for $625,000. Larger abodes — described by Jackson Hole’s developers as castles — have an attached vineyard and fetch nearly $8 million. The developer, Ju Yi International, says that more than 90 per cent of the1,500 homes have already been sold.
Occupying more than a square mile of arid land in northeast Hebei province, Jackson Hole has plenty of room to expand.
After weekend services at the non-denominational church, many residents gather at the nearby clubhouse, adorned with Navajo art and wagon-wheel chandeliers, for the all-you-can-eat buffet featuring “American pork chops,” smoked salmon and, in a nod to local tastes, tree ear fungus.
On a recent Sunday afternoon, the attire could be best described as American casual: flannel shirts, sweatpants and sneakers. The tables were packed with extended families, nearly all of whom were drinking imported red wine.
Residents of Jackson Hole expressed annoyance at the suggestion that their embrace of all things American was somehow unpatriotic.
“You have to see who is touting the anti-American propaganda,” said Gao Zi, 60, a retired military employee who organizes an oil painting club for Jackson Hole residents. “In the 1950s, when China was a closed society and we were fighting in Korea, we accepted the propaganda. But now people have the opportunity to travel abroad and see the truth for ourselves.”
In the days after providing a tour of Jackson Hole, Liu Xiangyang, the man behind Ju Yi International, declined to be interviewed, saying he would only do so if given the ability to nix any politically sensitive content.
Chinese news media accounts have described Liu as a student of Western psychology and an avid practitioner of tai chi who studied psychology in Canada. Liu also has a home in Jackson Hole and residents say he frequently socializes with his neighbours.
“In a typical Chinese development, you’d never be able to drink wine and tea with the owner,” Qin said.
But even utopia has the occasional flaw. Beijing’s notorious smog often shrouds the mountains surrounding Jackson Hole and Gao, the retired army employee, bemoans a smattering of unwelcome changes.
When she first moved here eight years ago, it was rare to see front yards enclosed by gates and the houses were oriented to face the complex’s meandering streets.
But more recent arrivals have insisted on building houses on a north-south axis, hewing to Chinese feng shui tradition. An increasing number have also been fencing in their homes, impinging on the community’s open feel and complicating impromptu neighbourly visits. “Putting up walls is part of the Chinese mentality,” she said. “The fear is not something that can be erased overnight.”
That said, Gao and her husband, a music teacher, would not dream of living anywhere else. The couple used to make the 90-minute drive from Beijing on weekends, but now Gao insists on staying all week long. “I never want to leave,” she said.