Beijing’s initiative to ease congestion and other urban ills is forcing thousands of merchants to relocate, according to a report by the Global Times. Many of these vendors are unsure where to go next.
Relocation is one of the stipulations indicated in an integration plan for Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei Province.
"I have spent the last few months visiting different sites in different cities, which are offering different incentives, but none of them seem charming enough," shared 45-year-old Shi Ankai, who owns a clothing wholesale chain. He's currently renting a shop in Baigou, Baoding, Hebei Province but hasn't moved his business.
"I still haven't decided yet. I'll look around and see where things are heading," he said in an interview with the Global Times.
Although surrounding cities such as Tianjin, Baoding, Shijiazhuang and Langfang are all offering incentives to lure Beijing-based businesses to their municipalities, Beijing is still quite hard to beat. Aside from an impressive purchasing power, Beijing has access to convenient transportation, infrastructure and support facilities.
Relocation is also inevitable for merchants in South Fourth Ring Road's Dahongmen in Fengtai District. After the integration plan, it is estimated that only 10 sections will remain out of the existing 45 sections.
Lu Dawen, director of the market's relocation office, has already seen to the closing of nine sections since last year. The progress affected 12,880 workers and vendors. Lu estimated that the whole process will be done by 2018.
Other vendors, however, view the integration plan as a welcome change.
"My shop in Beijing was 12 square meters, and the rent, the warehouse, the tons of fees and costs piled up to 500,000 yuan a year. The pressure is overwhelming," said Wang Baisong, one of the first group of merchants who left and transferred from Dahongmen to Baigou. According to Wang, he now operates a larger shop for a cheaper price.
"Relocation brings me a better quality of life. For others, I'm not sure. They need to get something from relocation," Wang said.
Beijing is not the only Chinese city going through an overhaul. Shanghai is also relocating vendors for a local sanitation drive.