Posted: Submitted by wtanaka (648) on Wed, 2006-07-19 22:12. | Subject: Scale model of 450x350 km area of Chinese/India disputed border

. . . remote Chinese village of Huangyangtan which hosts what must be the strangest military installation ever spotted by the Google Earth Community:

Zooming in for a closer look, we have what appears to be a 900x700m scale model of a mountainous landscape complete with lakes, valleys and snow-capped peaks.

It's clear that a huge amount of time and resources has been invested in this perplexing scale model, which incidentally represents an area of around 450 by 350 kilometers. The big question is: why?

The only sensible explanation we can come up with is that it's a training aid for pilots - possibly helicopter jockeys - designed to familiarise them with the landscape should military action ever be required.

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