A glimpse inside the world's artificial cities

These artificial cities and towns were built for all kinds of reasons. One example in Russia was dressed up with faux facades for a visit from Putin in 2013, closely following the mold of the Potemkin villages of yore. Some, like China's replica cities, were built by developers to architecturally mimic Western cities like Paris. Others were constructed by the military or self-driving car companies to provide realistic urban environments in which to practice maneuvers or test new tech. "These Potemkin villages are for me an interesting symbol of the sometimes absurd developments of our society," Sailer says, referring to the illusions, fakes, and manipulations that governments and companies employ to maintain and extend their power.