Free Republic

Driving through Naypyidaw, the purpose-built capital of Burma, it could be easy to forget that you’re in the middle of one of south-east Asia’s poorest countries. On either side of the street, a seemingly endless series of giant detached buildings, villa-style hotels and shopping malls look like they have fallen from the sky, all painted in soft pastel colours: light pink, baby blue, beige. The roads are newly paved and lined with flowers and carefully pruned shrubbery. Meticulously landscaped roundabouts boast large sculptures of flowers. The scale of this surreal city is difficult to describe: it extends an estimated 4,800...

Thames Town looks a lot like your average historic English village. There are lush green squares, classic brick homes, and even red telephone booths. But Thames Town is not nestled in the British countryside; it's located in the northeast corner of China in Songjiang, near Shanghai. And it didn't grow gradually over hundreds of years; it sprang up in 2006 as part of Shanghai's "One City, Nine Town" initiative, an attempt to decentralize the city. The city is a virtual ghost town, with empty shops and unused roads. It's a popular destination for wedding photos, according to Racked, which has...

Breaking