Shanzhai  Shanzhai () is a Chinese term literally meaning "mountain fortress" or "mountain village" whose contemporary use usually encompasses counterfeit, imitation, or parody products and events and the subculture surrounding them. "Shanzhai" products can include counterfeit consumer and electronic goods, which can involve the imitation and trademark infringement of brands and companies. The term's modern usage grew around 2008 when counterfeit smartphones reached their greatest domestic use. Today, some relate the term with grassroots innovation and creativity rather than with falsehood or imitation. The term "shanzhai" was first used for its literal meaning, which referred to defensible mountain forts and strongholds, usually in areas on the outer reaches of imperial government control. During the Song dynasty, "shanzhai" came to describe groups of bandits who opposed and evaded the corrupt authorities to perform deeds they saw as justified. One of the most well known uses of "shanzhai" in this way is in the story "Water Margin." "Shanzhai" goods are often regarded as rebelling against the established commercial market, adopting the spirit of opposition and individuality that the term was originally associated with during the Song dynasty. Some "shanzhai" products are created with the intent to deceive buyers, although others are created with features not included in their respective authentic counterparts, or are created out of jest or parody (such as the CCSTV New Year's Gala). An alternate theory for the use of the term today is that due to the majority of imitation electronics manufacturers being in Shenzhen, wholesalers from other parts of the country referred to the products as "Shenzhen products", which gradually became the term ""shanzhai" products" due to both sounding similar in Mandarin Chinese spoken with a Cantonese accent. This may also relate to the term's use in Cantonese slang to refer to low-quality family-based factories which were viewed as producing these goods. During the early-2000s, early instances of "shanzhai" production began, mostly with simple counterfeiting of simple electronic goods including DVD and MP3 players in cities such as those in the Pearl River Delta. In the mid-2000s, more advanced products such as smartphones were being created, with varying levels of skill and quality, leading to the term "shanzhai" being applied to counterfeit goods. By the end of 2006, it is estimated that "shanzhai" mobile phone manufacturers accounted for around 30 percent of the domestic phone market in China.