Fakery gains renown in realm of shanzhai

The Chinese word shanzhai translates as small mountain village, but it's now used to describe products that have names similar to famous brands or people who imitate celebrities.

It has become a common name for fake goods after shanzhai cell phones made by small workshops in south China became popular across the mainland in the past two years.

Besides shanzhai electronic products, there are shanzhai movies, shanzhai stars and even a shanzhai Spring Festival gala, a copy of the 25-year-old traditional show presented by the state television on the Lunar New Year's eve.

Shanzhai has become a culture of its own, symbolizing anything that imitates something famous, and the phenomenon has sparked a public controversy over "whether it is healthy or sick" to be a copycat.

In Chongqing City, a shanzhai-version "Bird's Nest" woven by farmers with bamboo attracts wide attention, and the shanzhai-version "Water Cube" is popular with tourists. Both are copies of the famous Olympics venues in Beijing.

Shanzhai "represents non-mainstream ideas and innovations, and it's also a new way for common people to express what they want," said Li Zonggui, a professor at Sun Yat-Sen University in Guangdong Province.

Xie Xizhang, a literary critic, said that when a traditional CCTV program became less and less appealing to audiences, the shanzhai version sprang up naturally.

"Despite its coarse techniques and operation, shanzhai culture meets the psychological demands of common people and could be a comfort to their minds," Xie said.

Tian Huiqun, a professor at the College of Art and Communication of Beijing Normal University, noted that the concept started in the business world, and as a result the shanzhai culture has a commercial aspect.

She said shanzhai culture never copies the classics, only trendy products. In that sense, she said, it's like a computer virus, "multiplying without meaning."

For mainstream culture, the rise of shanzhai is a challenge as well as a stimulus, Xie said.

Tian said various cultures developing together are a good thing for the public.