This Day, That Year

Item from Aug 22, 1999, in China Daily: Pawnshops are flourishing in China.

Statistics indicate that individual customers make up 95 percent of pawnshops' clientele, contributing to about half of the business volume. Another half comes from small and medium-sized enterprises.

Since the first pawnshop on the Chinese mainland was opened in Chengdu, Sichuan province, in 1987 after China's reform and opening-up in the late 1970s, pawnshops have played an important role in helping small businesses survive hard economic times.