Creative community behind the Shan Zhai Culture
China has bad reputation on the massive production of counterfeit goods. It scares the Western world by the report of the huge amount and variety of the fakes.
Chinese people name this counterfeit production in a ironic way- “Shan Zhai Culture” where the words “Shan Zhai” original means “mountain village”. Shan Zhai is to describes those electronic products, like cell phone, MP3 that have the similar names or appearance of famous brands but were made in the village. 1 Because of this, many people blame Chinese industries for copying the original products without approvals. Some people even concluded that China is a nation lacking of innovation. But how can a national rapidly developed in 30 years without spirit of innovation and creativity? Shan zhai is different from simply counterfeiting; it means more to China.
Some people believe that the thriving Shan Zhai culture is because of the Chinese Styled Education System where teacher centered classes and text-based education killed the creativity of Chinese kids 3. Some says counterfeiting and following the developed countries is a characteristic of emerging world 2. From the cultural to economic reasons, the fact that Shan Zhai is badly needed in China cannot be denied. In other words, China is not a country without innovations, but it has to have the Shan Zhai that imitating others as a process of development4.
Shan Zhai on one hand is a good strategy for marketing 2. It fits needs for a broader range of customers, especially in developing countries. People buy the Shan Zhai products not because they are convinced that the product is original, but because they need the cheaper counterfeits. Even though some counterfeiting products are labeled with famous brands, this won’t make the product more valuable, but it’s more like showing the worship to the big brands for the customers. And this phenomenon shows the problem of superficial materialism in china caused by the rapid development in economy instead of cultural qualities in recent years. On the other hand, Shan Zhai productions are seeking for innovation as well. Counterfeiting industries not only employ millions of people in China, but also benefit the people with their own techniques. For example, there is a product called Hiphone, a knockoff iPhone in China, it can accommodate two sim cards which benefits those people who travel globally — and not available from the real thing2.
As a developing country, China has been working so hard in last 30 years in catching up the western countries. Only with a certain development foundation, the nation can make investing and exploring new things as primary tasks. In recent years, the Chinese has increased emphasis on creativity and innovation3. On one hand, it supports technological researches and encourages creative education in schools. On the other hand, it also creates jobs via largely untapped industries. Instead of relying or State Own Enterprise only, the government builds the private sectors on the back of innovation3. Shan zhai is not dark side of Chinese culture, but an immature aspect of progress. There is still a long way for China to go, and development of a country needs a creative community at its back.

Reference:
1. M Dee Dubroff, “Copycat “Shanzhai” Culture Becomes Innovation in China”, accessed September 18, 2012, http://inventorspot.com/articles/copycat_shanzhai_culture_becomes_innovation_china_21777

2. Jeffrey Hays, “Pirating and Counterfeiting in China”, last modified March 2012, accessed September 18, 2012, http://factsanddetails.com/china.php?itemid=356=9=61#200 3. Jenny Zhu, “China’s Creative Community and Youth Culture: Interview with Adam Scho” Last modified May 25, 2009, accessed September 18, 2012, http://jennyzhu.com/2009/05/25/chinas-creative-community-and-youth-culture-interview-with-adam-schokora/

4.Peter K, Yu, “ Cuases of Piracy and counterfeiting in China”, Guan Xi : The China Letter, April, 2007.