Walking around in China's big cities, especially Peking and Shanghai, the observer is stunned by the number and size of the building projects currently under way and of the areas set aside for upcoming construction. These sites are usually surrounded by tall fences offering a continuous succession of virtual images of the planned complexes and shopping centres.

The reality of the future is thus portrayed in enormous detail - fake passers-by, fake cars, fake greenery - within the existing reality of which it is already a part. A flood of advertising icons that blurs the boundary between fake...