秀水街

This guide to Xiushui Street in Beijing follows an open-air alley nicknamed Beautiful Water Street, which for twenty years drew crowds hunting knockoff silk and designer goods until officials tore it down in 2005 and replaced it with the climate-controlled building around you. That November, five of the world's biggest fashion houses, including Chanel and Louis Vuitton, sent lawyers here to buy up counterfeit handbags as courtroom evidence. Listen for the haggling on the floors around you, the same game shoppers have played here for decades.