Travelogue: Shanghai's fake market

In the midst of writing my journals for my trip and churned out this entry which I wish I could submit this as part of my assignment. But work is work and this is only worthy to go on my blog...so here goes! 

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One of the most memorable experience happened the day we arrived in Shanghai, where two Malaysian ladies and two Indian men survived shopping in Shanghai’s dodgy fake market, equipped with only 5% of Chinese vocabulary and zero sense of direction. We initially found ourselves in a mall filled with tiny shops selling all sorts of clothing and while shopping, strangers will approach with leaflets of designer bags, urging to follow them. We girls ignored at first, but our male counterparts decided to follow one of them who said will take us to the fake market. So, four of us followed this lady out of the mall, across the street, underground and landed in another mall that sells counterfeit goods. The shopping experience was fascinating because we were followed by an undercover policeman all the time and had to enter tiny shops which we were then locked in to inspect their products. Of course, getting out of the shop without purchasing was not easy but we made it out anyway.  Also, we learnt that everything has to be bargained to at least 80% cheaper than their initial price and many times we were bemused about how cheap certain items can go. In short, it was impressive to see how well the Chinese are at making counterfeit products at the lowest price possible and interesting to see how the police in Shanghai actually try to enforce the law unlike many countries whom would give in to corruption. 

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Anyway haul from fake market!

1) Fake hair - RMB20 / RM10

2) Winter leggings or what we call "cheat leggings" (lined with wool underneath so you look like you're wearing thin leggings but you're actually fully insulated underneath) - RMB25 / RM12.50

3) Dr. Dre Beats earphones (of course its fake but quality is good and looks real enough, even comes with a pouch and manual) - RMB60 / RM30 

4) Longchamp handcarry travel bag (super worth it) - RMB60 / RM30 

5) Diamente hair clips - RMB3 for 2 / RM1.50 for 2

My only regret - not buying the fake OPI shatter nail polish!! I think it was around RMB15 for one (RM7.50).