Knock-off: The 'hiPhone 5' (left) and Apple's iPhone 4 (right). The counterfeit device is based on leaked images of the yet-to-be-launched iPhone 5 and is thinner than the existing iPhone 4
Spot the fake (it's on the left). Chinese consumers have to pay 200 yuan (£19 / $31) for the hiPhone 5, compared to four times that for the genuine article
The designers of the hiPhone 5 clearly didn't want a repeat of Apple's 'antennagate' fiasco
However, it is extremely light, almost like a plastic toy, like most pirated mobile phones.
Consumers have to pay around 800 yuan - four times as much - for the genuine article, according to shop clerks at a mobile phone market in Shanghai.
'Look at this. It's not the same as the 300 to 400 yuan ones,' Shanghai-based daily Metro Express quoted a clerk as saying, pointing to one originally priced at 850 yuan.
Western governments have repeatedly criticised China for widespread violation of intellectual property rights, but pirated goods from branded watches, to bags and computer software can be easily found in shops.
Last month, an American blogger set off a media storm after she posted pictures of an elaborate fake Apple Store in Kunming, selling genuine if unauthorised iPhones, Macbooks and other widely popular Apple products.
Reuters also uncovered a look-a-like of the Swedish furniture giant Ikea in the south-western Chinese city.
Apple, which is expected to roll out the latest version of the iPhone 5 smartphone within a few months, sold a record 20.34million iPhones during the last quarter, even though its newest model is over a year old.
Fake iPhones are displayed at a mobile phone stall in Shanghai. Like most pirated mobile phones, it is extremely light, almost like a plastic toy
Shutdown: One of five fake Apple stores found in Kunming, China, last month
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