Citizens of the world

摘要

A STRAIGHT TRACK through a wood, and a guard hut at the end of it, is all there is to "China City of America". A sign on a flimsy barrier says, "Do not enter". It is hard to imagine that if the developer, a Chinese emigrée, has her way, this rural nook in the Catskill Mountains of upstate New York might one day become a sprawling complex of residential properties, China-themed entertainments, a casino, shops, restaurants, offices, an exhibition hall and educational facilities covering hundreds of acres. That, at any rate, was Sherry Li's original plan, unveiled in 2013. Her aim was to attract 1.5m visitors annually to a "Chinese-concept Disney" that would transform the struggling economy of this sleepy area about two hours' drive north-west of New York City.