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Albert Speer Jr. to Build "Detroit of the East" in China

With its plans to build a city neighborhood dedicated to the car industry Changchun, China is taking another ambitious step toward becoming a key player in the global automotive industry. And the son of Hitler's architect is lending his services.

DPA

Volkswagen produces its Golf model for the Chinese market at a factory in Changchun. More car factories are on the way.

It's no secret that China is diving headfirst into the automobile industry. This week though, Chinese officials decided on an architectural firm to build their very own Motor City. And they have selected the son of Hitler's architect -- and his firm called Albert Speer & Partners -- to do it.

Albert Speer Jr. confirmed this week that his firm won the $140,000 design competition staged by the city of Changchun to plan an entire city district dedicated to automobile manufacturing and housing for the people who will work there.

Changchun is a central focus in China's ambitions to become a global player in the automobile market. The city is already the country's second-largest automobile-manufacturing center and home to a Volkswagen joint-venture that produces the Golf model for the Chinese domestic market. Audi and Mazda are likewise already present in the industrial city, and Changchun officials say they are planning to build up to five more automobile assembly plants in coming years.

The so-called "Detroit of the East" will include housing for 300,000 residents and is expected to be completed within 10 to 15 years. The city said the plan will in part be inspired by Volkswagen's "Autostadt," or Car Town, at its Wolfsburg, Germany headquarters. The Autostadt is a mixture of both automobile production plants and cultural facilities open to the public.

Last year, the Chinese raised eyebrows with the European introduction of its first automobile export, the Landwind, which entered the market to almost universal criticism. The country is now also introducing the Chery line of cars in international markets. With the technical know-how China has gained through its joint ventures with western car-makers including General Motors and Volkswagen, the country is making fast advances in automobile technologies. Many expect it to become a powerful player in global markets within a matter of decades.

The architect, the son of Nazi war criminal Albert Speer, who was Hitler's architect and muse, has long been successful in China. In 2002, his firm won a design competition to build a similar car city in Shanghai. In Germany, Speer rose out of the shadow of his family's past to become one of the country's leading architects. His company helped organize the 2000 Expo in Hanover and to redevelop a major part of Frankfurt's city center.

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