Other Western themes used to date are Scandinavian (Luodian), Italian (Pujiang), Spanish (Fengcheng), Canadian (Fengjing), Dutch (Gaoqiao) and German (Anting).

[9] The architectural firm of Atkins was given responsibility for planning Songjiang New City and designing Thames Town.

Thames Town was completed in 2006, occupying an area of 1 square kilometre (0.39 sq mi) and designed for a population of 10,000.

[5] Some of the architecture has been directly copied from buildings found in England, including the church (modelled on Christ Church, Clifton Down in Bristol), a pub, and fish and chip shop (copied from buildings in Lyme Regis, Dorset),[10] and Chester High Cross.

[11] The proportion of owners taking up permanent residence was low,[12] and Business Insider described it as a "virtual ghost town".