Changjiang International Garden, a residential community in Xinwu district, Wuxi, held an outdoor flea market on May 7, where locals bartered for merchandise, ate delicious food and donated to charity.

It is the fourth time the market has been held, attracting many people to haggle and take part event which was split into four areas, those of environmental protection, originality, joy and love.

The stalls had items new and old for sale, including old books, toys, knitted bracelets and fragrant carnations. Zhou Liang, a girl who had returned to Wuxi for her summer vacation and who studies abroad at University of Toronto, took part in the event selling original hand drawn posters and creative bracelets.

On the other side of the market, gourmet food stalls were set up where an array of talented cooks from across the country conjured up their hometown specialties. Cold noodles in sauce, fried dumplings, sour and spicy soup, steamed dumplings, Thai pineapple rice, French cookies, kimchi and sushi were on the menu for hungry visitors. Some foreign families gave their seal of approval to the Chinese food that was on offer.

Handicraft stalls attracted clusters of children with activities such as puzzles, painting, balloons, clay modeling and making rice dumplings. A group of foreign teachers even played baseball with some of the kids.

More than 400 residents, including many vendors, also donated unwanted clothes and other items to a foundation set up by the flea market organizer in order to help people in need.

The organizer said the flea market is designed to promote friendly relationships in the neighborhood, enhance artistic expression and improve community spirit.

In the future, the flea market will include new events such as those designed to raise awareness about the environment and volunteering.

A boy shows off the toy plane he’s just bought at the Changjiang International Garden flea market, on May 7. [Photo/provided to chinadaily.com.cn]