Silk Street Market, Best Fake Market in Beijing (秀水街)

Oh my God, this place is either heaven or hell depending on your point of view. Whatever you’ve heard about China making knock-off clothes, electronics, even food (heard a rumour about fake eggs!) – here is your proof – all 5 air-conditioned floors of it.

Buying Stuff at the Silk Market in Beijing, the home of counterfeit goods?

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Now I don’t wanna be too negative because no matter what I say, I can’t deny the fact that I go back here every time I’m in Beijing and buy some more dubiously branded items but what I will say is make sure you bring a bucket load of patience and some hard core bargaining skills. This place exists for tourists, there’s no doubt about that, so don’t expect a cultural experience. Expect haranguing, bartering, shouting and 5 bags full of unwanted goods! But as long as you leave with a smile on your face, that’s all that mattesr.

How to get to the Silk Market in Beijing:

It’s directly linked to the subway, get onto line 1 and go straight to Yong’anli subway stop. Take exit A and you’ll be straight into the Lion’s den.

If you’ve go no moral issues with buying counterfeit stuff, then this is a great place to stock up on gear for your travels. You can buy everything you need hear, backpacks, trainers, shirts, jeans, rock climbing gear, sun glasses, even fake netbooks and Iphone 5s (I’d advise you to stay clear of the electronics though).

Each floor specializes in different types of goods, pearls and jewelry on the fifth, silk on the 3rd etc. When you walk down each isle expect to literally be accosted by the sales people, physically grabbing you into their stores, shouting “What you want man, you want a suit, your clothes are bad, buy some new clothes”. Real confidence boost that was.

No matter how much resolve you have, you’ll buy something, I can almost guarantee it. Set yourself a time limit for how long you plan to stay, say 90 minutes for example, and get out once your time is up. Enjoy it for what it is, grab some fake diesel jeans and get out before you get too jaded! It’s hectic and it’s 100mph but there are certainly bargains to be had, at varying levels of quality.

I bought a bear of sneaker there 3 or 4 months ago, travel in them everyday and they still go strong. Here’s a quick approximate price guide of what stuff costs:

Starting Bid Final Price
iPhone 6 2,500 RMB 800RMB ($120)
iPhone 5s 1,500 RMB 500RMB ($90)
Sports shoes (Nike, adidas etc): 650RMB 75RMB ($12)
Jeans (diesel, replay etc): 400RMB 100RMB ($16)
Sunglasses (raybans, police): 300RMB 20RMB ($3)

Opening hours
Daily 09:30 – 21:00
Subway
Line: 1
Station: Yong’anli (preferably exit A)
Address
秀水街商场
朝阳区建国门外大街秀水东街8号
Xiushui Dongjie nr. 8
Jianguomenwai Dajie
Chaoyangmen District

Silk Street (Chinese: 秀水街; pinyin: Xiùshuǐjiē, literally meaning “beautiful water Street”), aka Silk Market or Silk Street Market, is a shopping center in Chaoyang District, Beijing, that accommodates over 1,700 retail vendors, notorious among international tourists for their wide selection of counterfeit designer brand apparel.

Opened on March 19, 2005, and replacing the old alley-based Xiushui Market, the current Silk Street establishment has diversified their business scope. In addition to selling fashion apparels and accessories such as hats, handbags, shoes, belts, sportswear and silk fabrics like their predecessor, the new Silk Street has introduced traditional Chinese handicrafts, antiques, calligraphy, carpets, table cloths, bed coverings, paintings, hand-knit dresses, toys, electronic gadgets, trinkets, and fine jewelry. Reputable establishments such as the Tongrentang Pharmacy, Quanjude Peking Roast Duck restaurant, and multi-national coffee and restaurant chains such as Lavazza, SPR Coffee, Caffe L’affare, Subway and TCBY have also joined Silk Street’s bid to become the “ultimate one-stop tourist destination” in Beijing. Invested and constructed by Beijing Xinyashenhong Real Estate Development Co., Ltd. and managed by Beijing Silk Street Garment Market Co., Ltd.

The Silk Street is located at Yonganli, just west of the China World Trade Centre and is accessible by subway (line 1) and bus.

History
The Beijing Daily in June 2009 published an article confirming that in the last years of the Qing Dynasty Xiushui Street (秀水街) had originally been Chou Shui Street (臭水街), “Smelly Water Alley” when it was simply a mud path outside the Jianguo Gate.

The original outdoor Xiushui Market (a.k.a. Silk Alley) was located in Xiushui Dongjie, south-east of Ritan near the First Embassy Area of Beijing. The shopping alley consisted of 410 stalls selling mostly knock-off luxury brand-name garments, silk products and tourist souvenirs. It attracted 20,000 locals and foreigners on weekends and reaped a total annual sales volume of 100 million yuan (US$12.5m). After 20 years of business, the old market was ordered to close down for demolition on January 6, 2005, due to fire-safety hazards, security issues and the absence of land permits from individual landlords. The application for demolition was filed on July 2004 by the Beijing Urban Planning Bureau, the Chaoyang Public Engineering Committee, the Chaoyang Department of Public Security and Fire Fighting, and the Chaoyang Foreign Liaison Office.