From Fake Market to a Strong Brand? The Silk Street Market in Beijing

摘要

This article is written as a biography of the Silk Street Market, Beijing, based on participant observation and interviews. It discusses the physical and symbolic transformation of the marketplace, over the past three decades, from a humble street market into an emblematic tourist site of Beijing. Migrants come and go, fashionable brands change, and yet reading the biography of the Silk Market reminds us of its resilience and its extraordinary skills in recasting itself from a fake market into (ideally) a brand name. In all its controversial glory, the Silk Street Market seems to reflect an re-enactment the fortunes of Beijing from a micro perspective.