November 17 , 2008 , MonDecoding Shan Zhai Ji (Bandit cell phone) - the opposite side of brand chasing
By Candy Yang, Lisa Li
Shan Zhai Ji, or ‘bandit cell phone’, refers to cell phones manufactured by unauthorized or small-scale factories on the South East Coast of China. They usually copy the design and the function of branded cell phones with much lower price. In fact, Shan Zhai Ji appeared years ago, but it started to gain huge attention recently. And the concept of ‘Shan Zhai’ (Bandit) started to extend to other categories (from snacks to apparel, from celebrities to TV shows).
What’s interesting to me is that Shan Zhai Ji, although at the first glance seems to be vulgar and ‘out-dated’, is actually considered cool and interesting by some youth. Recently I have met some really cool youth, incl. photographer, band member, graphic designer, and fashion geek, carrying different types of Shan Zhai Ji (such as bandit game player, bandit MP4 player, and bandit cellphone).
According to an informal poll we did on Kaixin001.com. The appeal of Shan Zhai Ji is not minimal. And it seems to be more attractive to creative youth (graphic designers, band members, etc.), technology geeks, and guys.
Aren’t the iPhone, Nokia, PSP the coolest stuff? Why some youth like Shan Zhai Ji? This post attempts to capture the trend and decode what Shan Zhai Ji tell us about Chinese young consumers. There is no attempt to recommend Shan Zhai Ji here.
Demystification of technology – approachability of technology
Shan Zhai Ji has revolutionized the perception of price of digital categories including cellphone, MP4, etc.
‘I used to consider the price of big brand cellphones reasonable because I think they are hi-tech products – the technology and materials should be expensive… However I was shocked to see the price of Shan Zhai cellphones. It made me realized how much premium big brands have charged on the products. If I can enjoy the technologies with such low price. Why not?’
‘It turned out that cellphone is not that hi-tech at all. Our small bandit factories can make as good products and even more powerful functions’ said a Shanghai guy who bought a MP4 player that play as many formats of videos as you can name.
Shan Zhai Ji moves fast on technology innovation (in many cases by copying at low price). This meets Youth needs to experience NEW technologies and NEW functions. As a matter of fact, some people have branded cell phones as their ‘official’ cell phones and Shan Zhai Ji as toys.
(‘iOrange’, a copy cat of iPhone)
Grass-roots humor in creativity
Shan Zhai Ji is not all about copying. There are a lot of ‘original’ innovations. And their creativity is usually represented in a way that is ‘humorous and kuso’ (kuso means outrageous fun or reckless doings) and ‘grassroots-intelligent’ – a way that is ‘appreciated’ by the youth. Some youth are keen in collecting and sharing the ‘weird’ Shan Zhai designs on the Internet, and they had a lot of fun by doing so. See Shan Zhai Ji collection on tianya , ‘Shai (晒 show) your Shan Zhai Ji’ on QQ.com, Shan Zhai Ji groups on Douban, and Shanzhaiji website . Shan Zhai has become a sub-culture that is associated with fun/kuso.
.jpg "cigarette cellphone")
Counter-elegance / counter-luxury
Probably more minor as a trend, but usually those who choose Shan Zhai Ji don’t expect them to be delicate or lasting long. Many youth, especially university students, are counting on pennies. And they don’t want to ‘pretend’ to be upper class. ‘Low fi low quality low cost’ can be proudly carried by owners who hate to be ‘pretentious’ (装).
Very Cool, but how do we tell two different 山寨机 iphones apart? - My coworker says ‘Shanzhaiji are great - modern high technology! Find the guy who sells them, knows ‘em inside out, he’ll show you which fake iphone to buy’
Also, is the new “open source” open copying? all the technology is out there for any one to steal. Steal it, throw it in your knock off product, and don’t pay for patents or Licensing but don’t pass those costs off to your customers either.
November 18th, 2008 at 3:22 am
Great post Candy! I find this trend fascinating and very reflective of some broader trends occurring in China.
November 18th, 2008 at 9:31 am
Interesting phenomenon indeed, I have encountered a Audi TT ‘kuso’ cellphone in Shenzhen and have been wondering how and what for months!
Good post!
November 18th, 2008 at 1:38 pm
GOOD~
It is very easy to recognize Bandit Cell phone’s sound…
November 21st, 2008 at 10:28 am
it is a very interesting phenomenon anyway..if you go to low tier cities, you will find that these 山寨机 are sold by street vendor, that will be more than funny..
December 9th, 2008 at 6:19 am
[...] What is Shanzhai ji? (山寨机, knock-off cell [...]
December 11th, 2008 at 12:30 pm
While many consumers in China are all over brand names, there is an emerging sub-culture trend in the world’s largest cell phone market that goes into the opposite direction. Shanzhai! Shanzhai! Shanzhai! Here is some more info on the buzz: 山寨机 - Trends without Brands. Bandit Mobile Phones Big Buzz in China - http://goldenchinabrands.com/blog/?p=573
December 12th, 2008 at 10:32 am
Interesting post.
Here in Nigeria, I think some of your bandit phones have actually made it to our shores and are enjoying popularity with both young and old.
It is not really in the category of cool per say but it affords people the opportunity to enjoy such wide range of functions at affordable prices.
December 12th, 2008 at 10:59 am
I really enjoyed this post. Shanzhai cell phones are certainly popular throughout China. I am amazed at how similar many of these knock-offs are to the actual branded products they are imitating. With prices 1/2-1/3 of the price of branded cell phones, do you think Shanzhai phones will make it difficult for handset makers to gain market share in China? Do many Chinese youth still continue to buy the real thing, because the branded products can be viewed as a status symbol? Thanks for your insight.
January 3rd, 2009 at 9:05 am
thanks for all the comments here ^_^
Hi Joel, thanks for the questions. BTW I enjoyed your blog a lot.
We did an informal poll on Kaixin001 (one of the biggest SNS in China) http://www.kaixin001.com/app/app.php?aid=1016&url=detail.php&vid=2048331&uid=1188423
The poll shows that a lot of young people accept Shanzhai phones. They would even recommend Shanzhai phone to their friends (29%), while 29% recommend iPhone and 43% (still the biggest group) recommend other well-known brands.
From my perspective, what the concept of Shanzhai is shifting is more than the current market share of big brands versus local manufacturers but the attitudes/ perception of Chinese youth towards ‘the value of brands’ or ‘the value of technology’.
The other interesting change of attitudes in youth (in big cities like Shanghai and Beijing) would be the diversified meaning of ’status’. While big brands may embody a ’status’ in conventional way, Shanzhai phones may imply a ’status’ of rebellion, and iPhone a ’status’ of innovation.
January 4th, 2009 at 2:27 am
[...] China Youth Watch: “Decoding Shan Zhai Ji (Bandit cell phone) -the opposite side of brand chasing” [...]
January 5th, 2009 at 1:00 am
[...] mais ChinaTology, parece que a Wired vai sair com uma matéria sobre o [...]
February 27th, 2009 at 10:42 am
brand names and shanzhai can co-exist in the same consumer. our time advocates for extremity and it is in our own benefit to visit both ends.
March 3rd, 2009 at 3:55 pm
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May 17th, 2009 at 5:34 pm
I quite enjoy your blog. Keep on the good work, I will subscribe. How do youthink of the new Nokia N97?
June 20th, 2009 at 3:00 pm
Very interesting stream of comments here. I’m especially interested in the poll where people recommend shazhai phones to their friends, while others recommend the fully original iPhone and so on.
How do these recommendations tie in to what people do themselves. For instance, have the people making the recommendations bought shanzhai phones? or iPhones? How do their experiences of these different products affect their recommendations, or their own purchase intentions?
July 7th, 2009 at 10:54 am
Very like your article, please refueling, I will always be concerned about.
Yours china phone.
July 23rd, 2009 at 1:24 pm
due to the fact that bandit fone is made by many small company, it is impossible for one to give a comment, 1 iphone could have 10 type of bandit iphone. Anyway i’m telling you my experience, i bought a bandit iphone, named sciphone, selling in europ for 120euro, in CN for 40 euro, so just wanted to try, used it for 15 min. sold it off immediately. Iphone still have very good future, but if you just want it for fun= ok, to use= no
July 31st, 2009 at 9:08 am
产卵 立方体 ?
http://www.cubespawn.com
I wonder if the clever bandit phone makers would like to make this machine, and improve it so that manufacturing becomes even cheaper? please contact me with your thoughts about this. data.pathway@gmail.com
the translation was done by google translate - hopefully its not too far wrong…
November 8th, 2009 at 2:33 pm
What is the latest and most expensive cellphones this year ?`’.
May 20th, 2010 at 1:37 am
i am sort of obsessed with the latest cellphones on the market and i am always on the lookout`;~
July 13th, 2010 at 3:03 am
There are many manufacturers now trying to sell fake phones. I agree with the above poster though when it comes to getting the real thing for social status. Wonder when the next new phone will be able to play very detailed games like first person shooters.
July 16th, 2010 at 5:00 pm
me and my sister both have mp4 players that are always on our pockets.~,:
July 27th, 2010 at 4:24 am