A replica of London’s iconic Tower Bridge in China has provoked scorn after local authorities splashed £1.5 million in renovations to make it “more coherent” with its Chinese surroundings.

The bridge – twice the size of the original with four turrets, spiraling 40 metres upward – was first completed in Suzhou, a city in eastern China, in 2012.

Tourists flocked to the picturesque city, dubbed “Venice of the East,” to walk along its canals and marvel at its 56 replica bridges.

Aside from the Thames bridge imitation, the city is also home to copies of other famous overpasses, such as Sydney’s Harbour Bridge and the Ponte Sant’Angelo in Italy.

Couples gathered to snap wedding portraits in the area, posing in elaborate gowns and tuxedos in front of the imitation Tower Bridge with its copycat ornate mullions.

But the bridge – commissioned in 2008 at a time when it was still in vogue for cities across China to imitate Western architecture, erecting copies of everything from the Eiffel Tower to the White House – was finished just as president Xi Jinping called for a return to traditional Chinese features and culture.

“History and culture are the soul of a city, and people should cherish the city’s historical cultural heritage as their own lives,” Mr Xi said. He even demanded specifically for an end to copycat architecture: “Don’t build such strange buildings.”

Local authorities in Suzhou then scrambled to salvage what they could, finishing renovations last year by flattening the bridge’s distinctive turrets, removing decorative elements from the windows, and painting the whole structure gray, much to the chagrin of locals. The bridge now bears no resemblance to its original inspiration after the expensive makeover.

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