WOW! The 'Hanging Gardens of Babylon' reemerge in Shanghai!

Absent from the world for more than 2500 years, the Hanging Gardens of Babylon have apparently reemerged in Shanghai as part of a residential project.

Over the weekend, photos hit Chinese social media showing a new real estate project that developers are building in Shanghai's Putuo District along the Suzhou River with trees planted on top of hundreds of soaring terraces. Because of its leafy and vertical design, the community has earned comparisons online to the mythical gardens of Babylon's Nebuchadnezzar II, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.

Of course, China is already full of recreations of other world wonders (some more faithful than others). In recent years, the country has earned a reputation for building a vast array of massive replicas of iconic landmarks, allowing its tourists to see the world without ever leaving home. Similarly, Shanghai has constructed a number of different suburban communities with architecture distinctive of other countries, so that residents can experience life in Britain or Holland without straying outside the city.

The project is the latest in a new trend towards more environmentally-friendly architecture in China with work already underway on an entire "Forest City" in Guangxi and plans for a pair of soaring "vertical forest" towers in Nanjing.

Will wonders never cease.

[Images via CGTN]

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