Shanzhai is culture challenges stigmas around the bootleg practices that take place in China. It encourages shanzhai practice as a tool to inform graphic design and design practices at large. This site is the digital sister resource to the mircopublication.

Shanzhai is inherently cultural to China. The term originates from traditional Chinese folktale, "Water Margin." The story follows 108 heroes rebelling against the oppressive empire. Shanzhai meaning "mountain stronghold" was the name of their base. This rebellious ethos is still relevant today, especially within the context of design.

The Gallery is an interactive user-upload platform featuring found and original creations of shanzhai imagery.

The Reference page is a library dedicated to texts that are related to shanzhai. It contains all sources referenced in the zine publication and many more relevant texts to inform your very own shanzhai practice.

Contact
Selina Zheng: @selina.zhe, selinaz@ocadu.ca

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This website was produced during the Winter 2026 semester as part of my fourth year graphic design capstone project at OCAD University under the supervision of Associate Prof. Diane Mikheal. Thank you Diane, for being the very best first and last graphic deisgn professor during my undergraduate degree. Thank you to my brother, for all the support I recieved with developing the back end for this site.