The miniature Manhattan is a part of the The Fly over America section of the park, and it does "not educate about the tragedy" according to Brent Deverman, the author who snapped the pics.
Deverman, a long-time Shenzhen resident and American, said that many Chinese expressed solidarity with Americans on the day of the attack. "When the planes flew into the World Trade Center Towers I was at a friend's house in Shenzhen and watched in shock and disbelief. Of course many of the Chinese in Shenzhen knew about the attack and had sympathy, taxi drivers would talk to me about Bin Laden and about how strong America was with the wars we were waging."
But without the same access to media as those living in the city, Deverman continued, "peasants coming from the countryside to visit the theme park today did not have the same access to media and television allowing them to witness what happened back then. They could not afford a TV or did not have extra spending money for a newspaper to learn about the unfolding events that changed the course of world history."
This, in his eyes, makes the still standing miniature towers an especially egregious offense for a locale that claims to be an "international city."
Whatever the reason for the replica towers still standing, be it laziness on the part of the theme park or something else, it's probably time to update the scene — especially at a place called "Window of the World." Or, perhaps they should consider changing the name to "Window into the Past."
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