The project was conceived back in 2001 as part of Shanghai's 'One City, Nine Towns' plan, which would result in the construction of new Western-style mega-developments around the city, to house its exploding population.
Construction took place between 2003 and 2006, including the German-style Anting, Holland-inspired Gaoqiao, the Spanish-flavoured Fengcheng and the most (in)famous of the lot of course, Thames Town, which is part of the larger Songjiang, the 'one city'.