Silk Street
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Silk Street (, Xiushui Street, literally meaning "beautiful water Street"), aka Silk Market or Silk Street Market, is a shopping center in Chaoyang District,
Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...
, that accommodates over 1,700 retail vendors, notorious among international tourists for their wide selection of
counterfeit To counterfeit means to imitate something authentic, with the intent to steal, destroy, or replace the original, for use in illegal transactions, or otherwise to deceive individuals into believing that the fake is of equal or greater value tha ...
designer brand apparel. The Silk Street is located at Yonganli, just west of the
China World Trade Centre The China World Trade Center () is located in Chaoyang District, the central business district of Beijing. The construction of the complex started in 1985 and was completed in 2010 after the completion of the China World Trade Center Tower 3. ...
and is accessible by
subway Subway, Subways, The Subway, or The Subways may refer to: Transportation * Subway, a term for underground rapid transit rail systems * Subway (underpass), a type of walkway that passes underneath an obstacle * Subway (George Bush Interconti ...
(
line 1 Line 1 or 1 line may refer to: Public transport Africa * Line 1 (Algiers Metro), Algeria * Cairo Metro Line 1, Egypt Asia China * Line 1 (Beijing Subway) * Line 1 (Changchun Rail Transit) * Line 1 (Changsha Metro) * Line 1 (Changzhou Metro) * L ...
) and bus. The Silk Street attracts approximately 20,000 visitors daily (from 9am to 9pm) on weekdays and between 50,000 and 60,000 on weekends as of 2006. This 35,000-square-meter complex houses 1,700 retail vendors and over 3,000 salespeople spread over seven floors with three levels of basements. Many of the stalls have, over the years, gained local and international reputation for selling counterfeit luxury designer brands at relatively low prices. Some have carried on this trademark despite growing pressures from the management, the Chinese government and famous brand-name companies.


History

The ''Beijing Daily'' in June 2009 published an articleLiu Zongyong Beautification and vulgarization of Beijing place names. 北京地名的雅化与俗
translation
/ref> confirming that in the last years of the
Qing Dynasty The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-speak ...
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 Counterfeit consumer goods (or counterfeit and fraudulent, suspect items - CFSI) are goods, often of inferior quality, made or sold under another's brand name without the brand owner's authorization. Sellers of such goods may infringe on eith ...
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 in 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. 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 Tong Ren Tang (TRT; ) is a Chinese pharmaceutical company founded in 1669, which is now the largest producer of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). The company headquarters are in Beijing and is engaged in both manufacture and retail sales, o ...
Pharmacy,
Quanjude Quanjude (, ) is a Chinese restaurant known for its Peking roast duck and its longstanding culinary heritage since its establishment in 1864 in Beijing, China. Company profile and branches The restaurant chain sells over 2 million roast ducks s ...
Peking Roast Duck Peking duck is a dish from Beijing (Peking) that has been prepared since the Imperial era. The meat is characterized by its thin, crispy skin, with authentic versions of the dish serving mostly the skin and little meat, sliced in front of the d ...
restaurant, and multi-national coffee and restaurant chains such as
Lavazza Luigi Lavazza S.p.A. (), shortened and stylized as LAVAZZA, is an Italian manufacturer of coffee products. Founded in Turin in 1895 by Luigi Lavazza, it was initially run from a small grocery store at Via San Tommaso 10. The business (Italian: ...
,
SPR Coffee SPR Coffee is a coffee chain operating in China and Taiwan. It entered mainland China in 2001 and in 2010 claimed 545 franchises worldwide. In March 2011 Asia Times Online counted SPR Coffee, with another originally Taiwanese competitor UBC Coffee ...
, Caffe L'affare,
Subway Subway, Subways, The Subway, or The Subways may refer to: Transportation * Subway, a term for underground rapid transit rail systems * Subway (underpass), a type of walkway that passes underneath an obstacle * Subway (George Bush Interconti ...
and
TCBY TCBY (The Country's Best Yogurt) is an American chain of frozen yogurt stores. It is one of the largest U.S. retailers of soft-serve frozen yogurt. History In 1981, Frank D. Hickingbotham opened the first TCBY in Little Rock, Arkansas. TCBY b ...
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.


Intellectual property right disputes

One of the political incentives behind the transfer of the old Xiushui Market to the current Silk Street establishment was related to the unregulated sales of fake goods in violation of
intellectual property rights Intellectual property (IP) is a category of property that includes intangible creations of the human intellect. There are many types of intellectual property, and some countries recognize more than others. The best-known types are patents, cop ...
, according to Yin Xiaobo, an assistant to the General Manager of the Economic Management Center of the JianGuoMenWai Community in
Chaoyang District, Beijing Chaoyang District () is a core district of Beijing. It borders the districts of Shunyi to the northeast, Tongzhou to the east and southeast, Daxing to the south, Fengtai to the southwest, Dongcheng, Xicheng and Haidian to the west, and ...
. The new Silk Street complex was viewed as a more effective battleground in regulating and eradicating
trademark infringements Trademark infringement is a violation of the exclusive rights attached to a trademark without the authorization of the trademark owner or any licensees (provided that such authorization was within the scope of the licence). Infringement may o ...
among private retailers. On November 23, 2004, the Beijing Administrative Bureau for Industry and Commerce and Beijing Commercial Bureau listed the new Silk Street as one of nine streamlined markets in Beijing in accordance with "Strengthening Market Supervision and Crackdown on False Commodities." Since the grand opening on March 19, 2005, Silk Street has conducted reforms in an attempt to regulate and crack down on violations of IPR in the market. Despite the efforts, counterfeits were still found inside the shopping center. As a result, five global brand-name giants, which included
Prada Prada S.p.A. (, ; ) is an Italian luxury fashion house founded in 1913 in Milan by Mario Prada. It specializes in leather handbags, travel accessories, shoes, ready-to-wear, and other fashion accessories. Prada licenses its name and branding t ...
,
Chanel Chanel ( , ) is a French high-end luxury fashion house founded in 1910 by Coco Chanel in Paris. Chanel specializes in women's ready-to-wear, luxury goods, and accessories and licenses its name and branding to Luxottica for eyewear. Chanel is ...
,
Louis Vuitton Louis Vuitton Malletier, commonly known as Louis Vuitton (, ), is a French high-end Luxury goods, luxury fashion house and company founded in 1854 by Louis Vuitton (designer), Louis Vuitton. The label's LV monogram appears on most of its produc ...
,
Gucci Gucci (, ; ) is an Italian high-end luxury fashion house based in Florence, Italy. Its product lines include handbags, ready-to-wear, footwear, accessories, and home decoration; and it licenses its name and branding to Coty, Inc. for fragrance ...
and Burberry were granted compensation of 20,000 yuan (US$2500) each from the landlord and five of its stall holders on April 14, 2006. On June 7, 2006, a deal was signed with European luxury name brands promising to evict tenants found violating trademark rights. ''The Intellectual Property Rights Protection Fund'' of 30 million yuan (US$3.8m) collected from its tenants was established by Silk Street in a collective effort to curb infringements of trademark rights. On August 30, 2006, 30 vendors received 10 million yuan (US$1.3m) in rent refunds from that fund as a reward for respecting IPR protection laws. An estimated 80 per cent of vendors at Silk Street have acquired trademark authorization as of August 2006.


Local transit

*
Beijing Subway The Beijing Subway is the rapid transit system of Beijing Municipality that consists of 25 lines including 20 rapid transit lines, two airport rail links, one maglev line and 2 light rail lines, and 463 stations. The rail network extends acro ...
: Yong'anli Station on
Line 1 Line 1 or 1 line may refer to: Public transport Africa * Line 1 (Algiers Metro), Algeria * Cairo Metro Line 1, Egypt Asia China * Line 1 (Beijing Subway) * Line 1 (Changchun Rail Transit) * Line 1 (Changsha Metro) * Line 1 (Changzhou Metro) * L ...
has direct tunnel to the basement of Silk Street via Exit A. * Beijing bus routes: ** Yonganli Intersection North (永安里路口北): 28, 43, 120, 126, 403, 639, 673 ** Yonganli Intersection West (永安里路口西): 1, 9, 43, 99, 120, 126, 205, 666, 668, 673, 728, 729


Other Beijing shopping areas

* The
Sanlitun Sanlitun () is an area of the Chaoyang District, Beijing containing many bars, restaurants, and stores. It is a popular destination for shopping, dining, and entertainment. The area has been under almost constant regeneration since the la ...
district hosts a slightly more downmarket clothing market, Yashou clothes market, where the same rules of price-haggling apply. The rest of Sanlitun has now been redeveloped from bars to clothing and restaurants. * The
Yabaolu Yabaolu (, russian: Ябаолу) is a street and area in Beijing, China, running from Chaoyangmen Outer Street to Jianguomen Outer Street. The south part of Yabaolu is home to . On the west side of Yabaolu lies Ritan Park. As of 2011 the co ...
district caters mainly to Russian traders buying medium quantities wholesale, but " Alien street market" is a cheaper, Russian-speaking, version of Silk Street. *
Xidan Xidan (Chinese: 西 单; Pinyin: Xīdān) is a major traditional commercial area in Beijing, China. It is located in the Xicheng District. The Xidan commercial district incorporates the Xidan Culture Square, North Xidan Street, as well as many ...
and
Wangfujing Wangfujing () is a shopping street in Beijing, China, located in Dongcheng District, Beijing, Dongcheng District. The majority of the main area is pedestrianised. Since the middle of the Ming Dynasty there have been commercial activities in ...
are the two major traditional commercial areas for department stores - with little or no English spoken. *
Houhai Houhai ( 'Rear Lake') is a lake and its surrounding neighborhood in Xicheng District of central Beijing, China. Houhai is the largest of the three lakes, along with Qianhai 'Front Lake' and Xihai 'Western Lake', that comprise Shichahai, the col ...
is for restaurants and bars, not shops, but has a back street Yandai xiejie "Tobacco pouch slanted alley" which sells art and craft type souvenirs as
Nanluoguxiang Nanluoguxiang () is a narrow alley that gives its name to an old part of the Beijing city centre with traditional architecture both new and old. The neighborhood contains many typical narrow streets known as hutong. It is located in the Dongcheng ...
. * Beijing Antique Market


References


External links


Official Silk Street Website

Silk Street 3D SketchUp Model on Google Earth
{{coord, 39, 54, 29.59, N, 116, 26, 36.30, E, display=title, region:CN_type:landmark Retail markets in Beijing Tourist attractions in Beijing Notorious markets Buildings and structures in Chaoyang District, Beijing