I Knew This Is Going To Make International News

Shanghai's signature knock-off market shuts doors

Fri June 30, 2006 11:51 AM ET SHANGHAI (Reuters) - Xiangyang Road Fashion and Gift Market, Shanghai's most famous street market for cheap imitation goods, was shutting up shop Friday, the victim of city government plans to redevelop the area. Stall owners said they had been told by authorities to vacate the area completely by late Friday night -- though some die-hard hawkers were merely moving operations to apartments in nearby residential buildings, and soliciting customers on the street. At its height, Xiangyang attracted thousands of foreign tourists and local residents to its cramped, muddy aisles. It offered ultra-cheap legitimate products -- clothes, sports equipment and shoes -- beside a wide range of counterfeit branded goods, from scarves and handbags to watches and pirated DVDs. Vendors said the business environment had worsened somewhat in recent months as China, under pressure from foreign trading partners, had taken sporadic steps to crack down on trademark violations. The redevelopment of the downtown Xiangyang area, which will include a metro line and possibly an up-market commercial project, sealed the market's fate.