Taobao 1, Xiangyang Market 0

We expect nothing less of Xinhua, but it is good to see that they are maintaining the party line regarding the recent closure of Xiangyang Market. Here is the caption they used for the photo that appears top the right:

Two workers blocked the entrance to Xiangyang Market in Shanghai, east China, July 3, 2006. Xiangyang Market, a major Shanghai tourist attraction with more than 800 tenants, was officially closed on June 30, 2006, as the downtown market failed to stop its tenants from selling counterfeit products.

Emphasis added by Shanghaiist. The headline for the page was "Xiangyang Market in Shanghai closed for IPR violation." Really? We guess the $450 million land deal had nothing to do with it. Man, it really sucks that we'll never be able to buy counterfeit goods in Shanghai anymore now that they shut down Xiangyang Market.

Not to fear, Taobao City is on its way! Pacific Epoch reports on a new megastore on Nanjing Xi Lu that is paying online auction site Taobao.com 10 million yuan a year for the rights to use the site's name for the mall, which is set to open in August and will feature many stores run by people who sell stuff on Taobao:

The shopping center has room for 300 stores on three floors, with a total area of 12,000 square meters. Taobao sellers will receive a 40 percent discount on rent, which comes out to about 180 Yuan per month. Broadband Internet access is available in each store, allowing sellers to conduct their online businesses at the same time.

Pacific Epoch has a photo (of questionable quality) of Taobao City on their site. It's Nanjing Xi Lu near Chengdu Lu.