Shanzhai cars glitter at the 2009 Shanghai auto show

'Shanzhai', literally meaning 'mountain village' in Chinese, now has become quite an interesting and new controversial word, which describe products that have names similar to famous brands or people who imitate celebrities.

Shanzhai culture takes on life of its own in China. The word "Shanzhai", first applied to cheap imitations of brand name cell phones produced by individuals or small shops in southern China, now is used widely to describe an inexpensive copy of anything that's well known or popular. 'Shanzhai' products are often low-cost products in poor quality.

Let's pick some Shanzhai cars at the Shanghai auto show,  can you guess which model they are ripping off?

The most shining Shanzhai model- Geely GE

Without glancing at the Geely label, everyone may think it's a Rolls Royce phantom, no matter in the exterior or the interior. But in fact it's Geely GE, a Chinese Rolls Royce, said the Geely company in an ironical way.

The most habitual Shanzhai model—BYD M6

See, it's not the Toyota Previa...but the BYD M6.  From BYD F3, F3R to F6, F0, all BYD cars are ripoffs, and habitually, from Toyota models.

The loveliest Shanzhai car—Geely IG

Not the Toyota IQ...but the Geely iG. Even the bubbles can't disguise it's a fake.

The most suprising Shanzhai car—Changfeng ACUMEN

 

Changfeng Motor, a long-time independent and low-profile SUV maker who never copy others, finally shifts itself to car ripoff, an ACUMEN model for Volvo S40.