Now the businessmen behind the scheme, which attracted thousands of investors, have been arrested and charged with “illegal fundraising”.
A get-rich-quick scheme that attracted thousands of investors in China has fallen foul of the authorities – ending what was meant to be a major tourism boost for China’s smallest towns.
The idea was to create a “thousand charming towns”, essentially themed villages to attract tourists and boost local economies.
The places would carry names like Crayfish Town, Asian Games Town, Poetry Town, Fairyland Town and Happy Town.
When visited by the South China Morning Post in 2017, Happy Town’s blueprints showed a sex toy shopping street, a sex exhibition centre and an adult-only hotel.
The “thousand charming towns” strategy was inspired by President Xi Jinping’s desire to modernise and urbanise much of China by 2050.
The target brought enthusiastic responses from villages and towns across China, where local governments have been scrambling to come up with themes of their own, since the initiative was conceived in 2016, SCMP reported.
Now the businessmen behind the scheme, which attracted thousands of investors, have been arrested and charged with “illegal fundraising”.
And it could be they are heading for Prison Town.