Yunxiao County, Fujian: The World’s Largest Fake Cigarette Production Base
95% of the counterfeit cigarette market share. Around 1997, it was the top domestic industry responsible for cigarette production and was once among the Fortune 500. But then "that thing" happened, and it was shut down and dissolved. To make a living, locals had no choice but to turn to counterfeit cigarette production. The local government turned a blind eye. When large shipments came in and deadlines were tight, schools would even let students go home early to help make fake cigarettes. It was basically a whole town of production workers. Their counterfeit products were so innovative that they actually forced the State Tobacco Monopoly Administration to catch up and mimic them... Their fake Marlboro products dominated the US market, forcing the FBI to step in against counterfeits. To cope with anti-counterfeiting raids, they even dug new tunnels deep in the mountains (the government must have been involved—if it were truly just a common-known fact across the county, why hadn't anti-counterfeiting efforts wiped it out after all this time? There's suspicion of covert protection by the local government). But because the tax impact was too massive, it was ultimately shut down in 2020, and they switched to growing loquats (one of the main production areas for loquat paste) and tea...