Fake scenic spots are not news in China. The shanzhai Tiananmen Square in Huaxi Village, the shanzhai Water Cube in Chongqing, the shanzhai Temple of Heaven in Linfen, the shanzhai Longmen Grottoes in Taihu Lake, the shanzhai Sphinx in Xi'an... These fake scenic spots have blossomed everywhere and survived to this day because ticket sellers and ticket buyers both know that it is just an imitation. In fact, the most poignant attractions are fake attractions next to real attractions. The tour guide told you clearly that "this is the Great Wall". You also lined up next to the stone tablet with the word "Great Wall" to take photos, and even climbed to the "beacon tower" on the top of the mountain to imagine the ancient times when the smoke was everywhere... It was not until half a year after returning home that when I found photos of "Heroes Slope", that my sharp-eyed friend pointed out that "you were climbing a fake Great Wall."

This infamous "fake Great Wall" is the "Shuiguan Great Wall" located a few kilometers away from the Badaling Great Wall. Strictly speaking, it is the real Great Wall, not a imitation building built later, but it is not the "Badaling Great Wall" that is famous at home and abroad. To be precise, its own officials never say that it is the "Badaling Great Wall", but a large number of travel agencies and a large number of tour guides use their eloquence to make thousands of tourists think that they have really arrived at the "Badaling Great Wall" every day.

(Shuiguan Great Wall Map Source Network)

Why is it said that "fake attractions next to real attractions are the most attractive to tourists"? Because it lied to you that it was true. Ordinary copycat attractions are just imitations and do not lie to you that they are real. Each is willing to hit and the other is willing to suffer. That is why works such as Window of the World, Chinese Folk Culture Village, and World Park were born. But the fake attractions next to real attractions are different. The reason why it was built next to real attractions is to confuse the public and make first-time tourists believe it.

Recently, a famous scenic spot located in the core scenic spots of Zhangjiajie has also been copied by a scenic spot outside the core area of Zhangjiajie. This imitated attraction is called the "Hundred Dragons Ladder", which is the fastest and highest outdoor sightseeing elevator in the world. It rises by 326 meters in 66 seconds, instantly bringing tourists directly to the core Yuanjiajie of Zhangjiajie. The Hundred Dragons Ladder has been operating safely for 17 years.

(The true Bailong ladder located in the core scenic spot of Wulingyuan in Zhangjiajie)

During the summer vacation of 2019, just more than 30 kilometers away, a fake Hundred Dragons Ladder rose from the ground. Although the height is only one-third of the height of the Hundred Dragons Ladder, with its similar shape and similar design, it is conceivable that a large number of tourists will think that they have really arrived at the core scenic spot of Zhangjiajie, and a large wave of negative complaints are also brewing.

(The fake Hundred Dragons Ladder located in the Zhangjiajie Grand Canyon)

The fake Hundred Dragons Ladder located in the Zhangjiajie Grand Canyon actually has no future. The reason why I say this is because, first, it is more than 30 kilometers away from the core scenic spot. Tourists can not see the most iconic gathering of the gods in the karst landscape here, nor can they see the most beautiful aerial countryside praised by netizens. They can not see the most famous "Avatar" floating mountain prototype, Mount Hallelujah. All tourists can see is a lonely glass bridge. For tour guides, deceiving tourists that this is the real Zhangjiajie Hundred Dragons Ladder is a hundred times more difficult than that this is the real Badaling Great Wall.

Second: The fake Hundred Dragon Ladder and the real Hundred Dragon Ladder are very different in terms of technical advantages and transportation capabilities. First of all, the real Bailong Ladder is the world's highest outdoor sightseeing elevator with a drop of 335 meters and a running height of 326 meters, but the fake Bailong Ladder is only 120 meters long. Secondly, the real Hundred Dragons Ladder has a speed of 5.25 meters/second, while the fake Hundred Dragons Ladder runs at a speed of only 3.5 meters/second. Finally, the true Bailong Ladder on the lift car can be summarized as "Gao Da Quan": it is very tall, with three upper and lower cabins; it is very large, with a single lift capacity of 72 people; it has fully exposed floor-to-ceiling glass windows and has the most complete view. The fake Bailong Ladder is an ordinary single-layer semi-enclosed car.

Finally, the popularity of the two is also different from heaven and earth. Bailong Ladder itself has a history of 17 years. In 2002, when the project was completed, it won three Guinness World Records, including "the world's tallest fully exposed sightseeing elevator, the world's tallest double-decker sightseeing elevator, and the world's largest load capacity and fastest sightseeing elevator." The fake Hundred Dragons Ladder located in the Zhangjiajie Grand Canyon is a newborn who has just passed the project acceptance and can only go down but not up.

It can be seen from the trajectory of scenic spots such as Window of the World and Chinese Folk Garden that when they first emerged, shanzhai scenic spots would be lively for a while due to preferential ticket prices and large rebates from travel agencies; but with the increase of online complaints, the widespread spread of bad word of mouth will eventually be deserted. The fake Bailong Stairway is far away from Wulingyuan. If it cannot keep up with the tourist traffic of the core scenic spots, it will be unknown whether the investment cost can be recovered.

In the online society, information is becoming more and more transparent and tourists are becoming smarter. Such fake attractions built next to real attractions and tour guides who hope to make money by making use of information asymmetry will become increasingly difficult to survive and develop. It is hoped that there will be fewer and fewer copycat attractions in the tourism industry, and that there will continue to be genuine attractions to bring tourists a fresh experience.