China's Google Maps (zoom out for best effect)
shanghai.edushi.com
shanghai.edushi.com
I think the look adds something to the map. It's a bit easier to parse and understand than satellite images and adds more information than a standard overhead map.
For those of us who don't read Chinese - what's the story behind this map? [EDIT: Wording]
The second row says "E address", measure distances, show bookmarks, correct errors, maximize; then there's a drop down called "frequently used places", and print.
On the far right is a search widget with tabs labelled "Address search", bus search, yellow pages, and "E address".
This is a remarkably useful app that I use frequently when I visit major cities. You can easily plot a subway or bus route with it. There are also photos of many buildings and a few 360 degree panoramas. I used it for apartment hunting once and I was astounded by the resemblance of the isometric drawings to the actual buildings. They must have hired a huge team of designers to make all this pixel art.
These are so much info that I can parse from the map.
Compare with: http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&...
Note that it's not just a matter of translation. First, they list Taiwan next to Hong Kong and Macau as if it's a peripheral part of China (this is surely China's wish, but the reality is that Taiwan is an independent democracy).
Then, there's a line in the water to the east of Taiwan and extending elsewhere whose sole purpose is to imply regions to be part of China's territory that are not or are controversial. This line isn't used anywhere else in the world, such as say, in the Caribbean, where the boundaries of different islands might not be clear.
I guess Google wants market share in China bad enough that they are willing to proffer multiple versions of truth.
Would you call the special Google News censorship for China a custom product?
It's also a question of ethics in this case. This is about data that Google is directly providing, not simply a matter of ranking or showing/not showing websites in their results. It's not serving the user a purple background because they like purple. Think about another possible case--would it be right for Google to draw Israel as occupied Palestine in countries where the majority of people might hold that point of view?
For example:
Some even have tiny animations - cars, balloons, zeppelins, helicopters, fireworks, flying houses:
It seems like balloons and zeppelins are actually carrying banner ads (I don't speak Chinese).
------
Edit: I found the company that did it - Aladdin Information & Technology - with some English explanations:
"Aladdin has a dedicated staff of 400 focused on delivering 2D maps to creation of 3D models."
That and the spiral onramp to the high tension bridge over the river.
Traffic bottle neck, prone to accident. A horrible idea probably as a result of laziness.
For me, the best city in China remains Hangzhou, maybe Xiamen :-) the most chill, laid back places in the east of the country (Kunming, Guilin and Hainan Island are all gorgeous)
Do you happen to live in Hong Kong?
(isn't that how it always goes?)