Consumer Confidence in China

Consumer confidence in Chinese goods isn't that high here either. My friend bought some bai jiu (chinese liquor) for about $0.50 a bottle. The Chinese person with him told him not to drink it. Why? "You'll probably go blind. It is not the real thing." Then showed him how to tell that the top of the bottle was not put on in a factory. He also showed that the bottle had other marks on it that were indications that it was not filled in a factory -- no gum on the bottom of the bottle, lack of something on the label, etc. Locals quickly check everything and the foreigners don't even know they should be.

Today our speaking teacher showed us all the things that you have to look for when you get a 100 yuan (US$13) note because so many are fakes. Also 50 yuan and 20 yuan notes are also often fakes. Every store, even quite small ones, has a bill reader to tell if bills are fake. (100 yuan is the largest bill.)

When you go to certain places (silk market especially) none of the brand names are real. Sometimes it is easy to tell, other times it is quite hard. If you are just buying clothes not for the brand, it doesn't matter, but don't assume anything in China is the real thing unless proven otherwise.