No, I am not talking about flatware.

Whilst scouring the world wide web for ideas to post about Orange County (after all, these little gems I write don’t just land on my desk you know), I stumbled across this newish housing development called Orange County. The twist is, it’s located in China. Apparently the obsession with Western culture doesn’t just end with Disneyland, but also extends to Disneyland’s home in the real Orange County California. Some genius created a housing development that looks and feels just like living in Orange County — South County to be exact. I’ll leave you to ponder that for just a moment.

At least I assume it’s based on California as there are eight different Orange Counties sprinkled throughout the United States (who knew). You can view some articles and magnificent photos by clicking here, here or here. They have ridiculous pointless guarded gates, just like we do. All the homes have a remarkable sameness about them, just like ours do. They park Hummers in their driveway, just like we do. And if you look at some of these pictures, you’d be hard pressed to distinguish this Chinese OC from an Irving Company development.

What I find stunning about this is, the part of culture they seem to be obsessed with. We have so many other distinct American communities to use as inspiration that don’t look like Woodburry or Portola or Mariner Square. Wouldn’t they do better to copy Colonial Williamsburg or row houses in Boston or even the log cabins of the Northwest, rather than the stucco familiarity of our planned communities? Eh. Maybe not.