Urumqi mall offers opportunities for vendors

Abdulrim Abdulrekep, who makes a living baking fish, has earned more money after he began his business in the Grand Bazaar Pedestrian Mall in Urumqi, Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region.

"As soon as the mall opened in 2018, I rented a stall here because the mall is big, beautiful and clean," the 41-year-old said.

He now earns about 3,000 yuan a day, much higher than that when he sold baked fish at home in the region's Moyu county, Hotan prefecture.

He bought a 55-square-meter house in Urumqi and brought his mother to live with him.

Wang Zhizhong, manager of the mall, said it could receive 300,000 tourists a day in peak seasons. The mall contains more than 100 stalls and created more than 500 jobs.

He said the mall set low rental fees for vendors. They don't need to pay a fixed amount, instead only 20 percent of their income.

"The mode attracted many vendors who don't have enough money to start. They have little pressure here," Wang said.

Invested and operated by the Urumqi Tianshan District Cultural Tourism Development Co, the mall has three areas — cultural and creative leisure, tourism products, and catering and cuisine.