Silk Street, which is famed in the capital for its cheap brand-name knock-offs, is looking to clean up its act with a 10 million yuan make-over in March and a push to rid it of fake goods.

Around 1,000 sq m of the market comprising some 350 booths will be shaken up. Many of the booths sell counterfeit brand-name clothing.

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The refurbishment will see the existing market booths replaced with 100 boutiques.

The move means small booths offering imported items will give way to larger outlets selling such things as tea, carpets, silk and Chinese traditional clothing.

The move is aimed at reducing the chance that the market will infringe on the intellectual property rights of overseas companies, said observers.

It will be the fourth - but most serious - attempt to clean up the market since it opened in 2005.

After the changes, 70 percent of the market's goods will be "safe products", said Hu Wenli, deputy general manager of Silk Street.

She said rents are being discounted by between 30 and 40 percent to encourage the new boutiques, but she refused to reveal the cost to rent space there.

"We are changing gradually. It is a big step for us but it is not safe to say that we have already ended our fight against knock-offs," Hu told METRO yesterday.

She said management at Silk Street will do whatever it takes to keep the market knock-off free.

"But building a knock-off-free market requires work from the whole society," she said.

"The market links with public demand. If people still have the desire to buy knock-offs, it is impossible to clean the whole market just by ourselves."

Zhao Tianying, a senior associate with IntellecPro, an intellectual property rights protection company, said it was too soon to say whether the shake-up will be successful.

IntellecPro has represented Gucci, Louis Vuitton, Prada, Chanel and Burberry in connection to Silk Street and counterfeit goods.

"Why not let the market prove itself to all the customers in March?" Zhao said.

The refurbishment will take around four days in mid-March.

Managers of the market say all openings for new booth spaces were snapped up before the end of 2009.