One of the last bastions of inexpensive goods on the east side of Beijing is under the “chai” symbol as the long-standing Dongjiao wholesale market is being given the heave-ho.
The massive expanse of streetside shops and covered specialty markets southeast of Soho New Town is still there, but many of the shops are already on the move with the government-stated deadline for moving Oct 1 less than a month away. Not a shopfront stands that is not daubed with the tell tale sign of imminent doom: the “chai” sign, meaning that the property has been slated for demolition.
For the last decade, I’ve found myself pointing more inquiring minds towards Dongjiao than perhaps any other shopping area in Beijing. Need fresh meat? Dongjiao. Cheap toys for kids? Dongjiao. Tea, toiletries, t-shirts, wine glasses, exotic spices, lobster pots? Dongjiao. All of it cheap, nearby, and bargaining was definitely welcome.
A large white sign now stands at the market’s entrance pointing vendors and customers alike to the “new” Dongjiao Market, to be combined with other markets and relocated 12 kilometers east, virtually in the middle of nowhere for residents of the Central Business District.
I had a love/hate relationship with the market. Always crowded, noisy and unkempt, entering it via a narrow opening on Dawang Lu was always a challenge: busy shopfronts meant pedestrian visitors shared the road with an incessant flow of honking cars nosing their way down the narrow entrance. A long-distance bus station and a row of fleabag hotels fronted by greasy breakfast joints and tattoo parlors was hidden at the market’s edge and brought forth a mix of shady characters that made the place feel just a little bit dangerous.
No doubt the messy nature of the market made the power brokers who seem obsessed with making Beijing into one giant, mixed-use, five-star property development uneasy: a blight on the sparkling diamond of a CBD that looks so good in promotional commercials shown to overseas investors.
Moving the market out past the Sixth Ring Road makes the CBD and its surroundings that much more inconvenient and unaffordable. No doubt the move will mess up traffic as well, given that customers used to walking to the market from densely populated nearby residential complexes will need to drive or take public transport to avail themselves of the market’s wares into the future.
No official word about what is to be done with the land the market now occupies. Some news articles refer to the area being used for a park, but I’ll believe that when I see it. My guess it goes to the highest bidder for a yet another mall/hotel/office/luxury apartment complex to compete with the dozen others in the area.
And so it goes: the relentless path of progress Beijing is on has crushed yet another element of affordability that was once one of the main attractions of living here.
Photos: Mike Wester
The Dude wrote:Many of them are scattering to different markets around the city but it seems the majority of them are going to a market just just East of Happy Valley at Wangsiying Bridge.
Ae you talking about the Happy Valley Amusement Park, which is like a hideous 30 minute drive through 4th ring road traffic nightmares and for all intents and purposes be smack dab in the middle of the "Where There Be Dragons" portion of most expat residents' mental maps?
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Ah yes, "Tonghui Town" - which I blogged about in 2011.
It has indeed remained dormant since its completion almost two years ago. It's quite sad to see the "for lease" signs flapping limply in the wind.
A cabbie told me the reason it's still empty is that the developers can't get the permission to knock down the power lines that run across the east side (front) of the complex - thus it's actually quite hazardous for any occupants and no one wants to be the first to sign a lease for a completely desserted space.
Evidently some planning officials went on a European junket a few years back and felt "inspired" enough to recreate the Swiss city of Interlaken along the charming banks of the Tonghui River as part of a "Chaoyang Media Center" - lord knows what the source of the funding was.
Well done, Chaoyang District!
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The sad thing is that market is the only thing thriving in that area -- just west of Dawang Lu used to be the other half of the Dongjiao market, but it was torn down several years ago and a complex of faux European shopfronts took its place -- and remains shuttered and dormant to this day.
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yeah, it's quite sad!
it wouldn't be a strech to say that more than half of the restaurants in town get some supplies from dongjiao and this is gonna make it harder to do some business.
Between the increase in rents, salaries and the relative difficulty to find staff, prices are bound to go up rather soon.
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As a restaurant/bar owner I have talked to many of my suppliers at Dongjiao and they are not all heading to the market out past 6th ring road. Many of them are scattering to different markets around the city but it seems the majority of them are going to a market just just East of Happy Valley at Wangsiying Bridge.
It sucks that this market is moving so far away and if you have a favorite vendor you best rush in there and find out which market they are relocating to quickly as dozens of vendors have already packed up and moved.
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