Copies of U.S. Ships and Fighter Jets and Taiwan’s Presidential Palace: What Is Hidden in China’s Desert

Over the past decade, China has built numerous detailed mock-ups of U.S. military equipment and Taiwanese government buildings in its deserts.

The facilities are believed to be used to train the People’s Liberation Army for a possible invasion of Taiwan, DR reported.

This is indicated by satellite imagery showing that the sites are located in two major areas of China: the Taklamakan Desert in Xinjiang and Inner Mongolia.

In the Taklamakan Desert, Chinese forces have recreated U.S. Arleigh Burke-class destroyers, aircraft carriers and fighter jets. Satellite images from 2026 show a full-scale 3D model of an Arleigh Burke-class destroyer featuring a bow gun, vertical launch systems and radar equipment.

The same area also contains a 1:1 scale mock-up of a U.S. Gerald R. Ford-class aircraft carrier, built in 2025 after earlier tests involving smaller targets.

To simulate moving naval targets, Chinese forces built a 35-kilometer railway line in the desert. Different-sized ship mock-ups are placed on the tracks, allowing troops to practice striking moving targets.

A separate area is dedicated to mock-ups of U.S. F-22 and F-35 fighter jets. Satellite imagery indicates that some of these targets were destroyed during simulated strike exercises.

In Inner Mongolia, China built an exact replica of Taiwan’s Presidential Office Building at the Zhurihe training base, one of China’s largest military training facilities. The site appeared in 2014 and was designed for assault training.

A replica of central Taipei’s street layout was added near the presidential palace mock-up in 2022. This allows Chinese forces to train for urban combat scenarios in Taiwan’s capital.

In addition to U.S. and Taiwanese targets, satellite imagery also revealed mock-ups of Japanese Boeing E-767 airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) aircraft.

Satellite images show that the E-767 mock-up built in 2022 was destroyed in 2025, with blast craters remaining at the site.

Japan remains a potential participant in a possible conflict because of the presence of more than 50,000 U.S. military personnel on its territory and comments by Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi suggesting the possibility of a military response in the event of an attack on Taiwan.