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New Silk Alley has smooth day one
(China Daily)
Updated: 2005-03-20 22:34 Flocks of visitors from home and abroad flooded
into the new Silk Alley market over the weekend.
The new version of the old market, which opened on Saturday, is now in a
building whereas it used to consist of stalls outside.
The market is famous among international tourists for its silk products and
fashionable fake designer clothes at cut-price prices. But would-be visitors to
the new market take note -- efforts are being made to get rid of the fake goods.
Silk Alley was one of the most popular destinations for foreign tourists in
Beijing, after the Great Wall and the Forbidden City.
That fame helped the new building to draw about 50,000 visitors on its first
day open to the public.
Covering about 28,000 square metres with some 1,500 stalls, the new building
is located to the east of the former Silk Alley market, neighbouring the city's
embassy area.
"It's really a dazzling world," said Erik Sjobeck from Sweden, who has been
in China for a few months to study at a Beijing university .
Erik and his friends had some "good bargains" after half an hour in the
market. Erik spent 40 yuan (US$5) on a T-shirt.
"To be frank, I prefer the old venue in the open air," he said.
Li Hong, a boutique seller renting an eye-catching booth on the first floor,
told China Daily that many people came to sightsee and only a few to shop.
The monthly rent for a booth ranges from 3,000 yuan (US$360) to 40,000 yuan
(US$4,800) depending on the position.
"People are flooding in thanks to the weekend and the opening day," Li said.
"Regarding business performance, it's hard to predict now. We need a couple
of weeks," Li added.
Another vendor, Ding Xiao, a shoeseller from East China's Anhui Province said
that by 4:30 pm he had sold out of several products.
He was a little fearful of the arrival of so many competitors, because the
booth capacity is double what it used to be.
"I have to make more effort to expand supply channels in a bid to outperform
others," Ding said.
Zhang Yongping, the owner of the building, said the introduction of more
vendors from different places together with a surge of foreign tourists shows
the internationalization of the street.
The property development owner promised to provide improved business
surroundings with more safety devices to help protect against fire and
accidents.
Three million yuan (US$360,000) has been spent on emergency equipment such as
fire alarms, Zhang said.
The original Silk Alley market began in 1982 when local Beijingers began
selling clothes. The market got its name in 1985 when more and more vendors
began to sell traditional Chinese silk products and crafts .
Groups of foreign tourists began coming in 1987 attracted by the silk
products with reasonable prices.
Tourists from Russia and the United States led the buyers from other nations
in exploring the open air market, characterized by Chinese hospitality and
bartering fun.
In 1995, fake international famous brands products began to show up, and the
market became a "fake products paradise".
"Fake brands with good quality is what Silk Alley was famous for, but we are
taking measures to curb that," Zhang said.
The old market was shut down on January 6 after a heated debate between the
property developer, vendors and experts.
Jiang Zezhong, a professor with the Capital University of Economics and
Business said the development of Silk Alley reflected China's reform and opening
up.
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