44岁的温州商人胡宾将一把上海泥土撒在了阿联酋迪拜的一个人工小岛上。这个3万平米的小岛叫作“上海岛”，是胡宾花了2800万美元买来的。这也是中国人迄今在中东数额最大的房地产投资项目。

A businessman from Wenzhou, Zhejiang Province has purchased an island off Dubai called Shanghai for $28 million.[Agencies]

A businessman from Wenzhou, Zhejiang Province has purchased an island off Dubai called Shanghai for $28 million.

Hu Bin, chairman of Shanghai Zhongzhou International, is planning to develop 70 villas and one resort on the island that will be an exact copy of the Bund and the Lujiazui financial district. The developments will sit alongside a channel representing the Huangpu River.

The 30,000-sq-m man-made island is one of 300 such bodies built by developer Nakheel 4 km off the coast of Dubai, collectively resembling a world map.

It is the largest project of its kind with five of the islands named after Chinese locations - Shanghai, Beijing, Kunming, Hong Kong and Taiwan.

Hu said he was hoping to use the development to bring Chinese culture and Shanghai style overseas. He will spend 1.2 billion to 1.5 billion yuan ($160 million-$200 million) building the resort.

He said he would not be seeking any partners despite the high cost.

Hu also said he would spend $1 billion next year to buy at least two more islands in The World development.

Hu, 44, registered Zhejiang Zhongzhou Group, a real estate company, in his hometown Wenzhou in 1998 with capital of 5.18 million yuan. That same year, he moved his headquarters to Shanghai.

As of early last year, Zhongzhou Group had more than 600 million yuan worth of assets and property projects in both suburban Shanghai and several neighboring cities.

Hu had had little exposure in the media before launching his island plan.

He said that when he visited The World in July at the invitation of the developer, no one had bought Shanghai Island.

"As a new Shanghainese, I thought it would be meaningful if I bought it," he was quoted as saying by the Oriental Morning Post based in the city.

Hu planted a Chinese flag on the island when he signed the deal.

According to Hu's plan, each of the buildings on the island will be equipped its own dock, landing platform and luxury hotel-style lobby.

A tower representing Shanghai's famous Oriental Pearl Tower is to be built in the center of the island.

To connect the nine islets of which Shanghai island is composed, Hu is also going to build bridges resembling the Huangpu, Nanpu and Xupu bridges.

Work on the development is expected to start early next year and to be finished in two years.

（China Daily)

（英语点津 Celene 编辑）