The VR-documentary The Real Thing VR offers an immersion into a life-size Chinese copy of large districts of European cities. The user explores Paris Tiandu Cheng, Venice Water-Town and the London Tower Bridge, all located in the region of Shanghai. Through brief encounters with the inhabitants talking about their home, their aspirations and their activities, we are confronted with a strange situation: ordinary daily Chinese life taking place within replicas of famous European architecture built in a completely different cultural context.