A visit to Arrowtown Village was prompted by our interest in seeing what had been a real gold mining town, the Arrowtown Chinese Settlement and several ghost towns in the surrounding hills. We actually enjoyed spending our several hours exploring a few of the many shops and taking pictures of the more quaint structures. However, there are many similar venues around the world, so Arrowtown Village was not particularly unique. Perhaps its mining history could set it apart, but we simply recalled some of the towns in Nevada and California in the USA. The restored and preserved Chinese Settlement, though, definitely puts this New Zealand village on the map.