Mod parent up (Score 2, Insightful)

Parent requires that you take a big-picture view of recent chinese activities, especially the political implications: new space race. man on the moon a year before the US returns, an industrial and economic agenda rivaling the equivalent american -- of course theyre trying to impress. potemkin villages in old world russia served the same purpose - convincing europe through a facade that it was full of happy people and progress. the chinese villages are a PILOT, an experiment, of course; however, they're ultimately more of a political statement than a scientific/ecological one. parent was pointing out (very subtly and obviously missed by other repliers) that china is likely trying to garner postive PR