Ray got up early on Sunday and visited the Holland Village area of Shanghai. It is located northwest of the center of the city, on the north end of Pudong near the WaiGaoQiao free Trade Zone. It is part of Shanghai's One City, Nine Towns project in which different areas of the city have been modeled after various countries. Only 8 ended up getting built and the 9th, a mixed Western town cancelled. Most of the central areas of the these towns have not turned out to be very vibrant, as some people have seen them as too different from the normal Chinese towns and way of life. As I was walking from the subway to the Holland Village, I did notice a large 3rd addition of the Holland Village under construction.
The other towns that have been built are in Fengcheng (Spain), Pujiang (Italy), Anting (German), Songjiang (England), Luodian (North European), Fengjing (North America), and Zhoujiajiao (traditional Chinese style water town). Once I figure out where some of these are and how accessible they are through the subway system I may have to set out to discover some more of them.
One of the most popular activities in these towns are wedding photos as they offer unique settings and photo opportunities. The base of the windmill houses a wedding photography studio and shop.
Since the windmill is actually on an island in the small canal, there is a drawbridge connecting the island to the mainland. I am not sure that the drawbridge actually works or not, as passage for the boats is easily accomplished on the other side of the island, where the channel is much larger.
Walking through the town, there were many shopfronts that were empty, or had their windows and doors covered with advertising. Their were a lot of day care, school, and training stores in the area, indicating a lot of young families may be lured to this area. There was also a large, modern looking Catholic church on the main street.
As I followed the river back towards the subway station, there were a lot foot bridges across the river, including one with a very high arch. The entire arch was made from steps rather than just sloped. 