Suburban village rekindles passion for leisurely shopping

A market fair mushrooming in Beijing's northern suburbs is providing a village-style atmosphere for visitors, and reintroducing them to the simple joys of shopping for handmade and craft items.

The weekend market in Xinzhuang village in Changping district opened in the autumn of 2023 as a venue for trading secondhand merchandise, but its impact was limited.

The fair started to take off in September last year when it was moved back to the renovated main street of the village.

Dong Yanhua, 47, originally from Tieling, Liaoning province, runs Cindy Coffee shop at the market, and is one of the main driving forces behind its successful rise.

When Xinzhuang Market was first opened, Dong created a WeChat group for vendors to sign up for a spot. "People were attracted to the idea. They came straight to me and said they wanted a spot in the fair. For some periods, demand for places exceeded the supply," she said.

Nowadays, vendors travel from across Beijing to set up their stalls in Changping. At its peak there are more than 120 sellers operating the weekend stalls, but few of them are locals.

Wang Huan, 37, from Daxing district is one of them. After packaging his bakery goods on Friday night, he gets up at 6 am every Saturday to drive to Xinzhuang, where he offers his baked goods, including pretzels. Most market days he sells around 600 items.

His market stall has given him the opportunity to display his professional skills while earning a profit. Wang is a student of master pastry chef Cao Jitong, and has held several senior positions in the industry, including working as a manager for his master's baking arts gallery.

"After all these years, I feel lucky that I am still in the industry and can bake what I am interested in," he said, adding that he constantly works to improve his products.

By featuring bespoke decorations and handicrafts, Xinzhuang has also distinguished itself from other marketplaces in the capital. It's earned a reputation as Dali in the suburbs of Beijing, a reference to the market in the Yunnan province city, renowned for its leisurely, laid-back atmosphere.

Xinzhuang Market's rapid growth is also an example of how the concept of village market fair can be broadened and converge with traditional ideas of how city street vendors operate.