The bustle of Yiwu night market and leisure of Yiwu market
Yiwu night Market, also known as The BinWang night Market many people know yiwu market, all know its existence, is a good place for leisure and entertainment in the evening, as long as you have time in the evening, you can play or shopping.Colleagues from the purchasing agency department of Yiwu Group visited the night market again recently.Let’s talk about some stories about yiwu night market.
After we had dinner, it began to rain again in Yiwu.Santing Road on the few pedestrians, not many vehicles, looks a little deserted.
People who are not familiar with Yiwu may be hard to imagine. Just a few hours ago, this branch road in the central city of Yiwu with a length of only 350 meters was the hottest point on the heat map of Yiwu: 6 o’clock in the evening every day. The five words “Santing Road Night Market” on the gantry at the intersection were lit up, and the screams of vendors and the scent of fried food began to diffuse in the air. Tens of thousands of people linger here, together drawing the most iconic picture of Yiwu nightlife.
Yiwu is the capital of small commodities, with a large flow of people and many merchants. As the local night market with the largest scale and the most traffic, Sanding Road Night Market has a history of more than 30 years. Although affected by the epidemic, the Santing Road night market was closed for more than 3 months after the opening of the year; but since the restart on May 15th, the night market has been operating at a high level, and the average daily passenger flow has been comparable to the same period in previous years.
The smell of fireworks in the world is most soothing to the hearts of mortals. The fireworks of the city are unobtrusive in the night market. At the moment when the concept of “night economy” is repeatedly mentioned, Yiwu, an enduring night market, is a successful and unique sample in the Yangtze River Delta region.
In the evening, just as the Sanding Road Night Market was about to open to welcome guests, the rain in Yiwu almost stopped all day. The reporter followed the crowd into this old-fashioned night market. While recording the night of Santing Road, the reporter tried to interpret the mystery of the night economy.
Internet celebrity check-in point
Like all public places, bright code temperature measurement is a prescribed action before entering the night market. At the gate of the night market, a security guard reminded visitors to wear masks over and over again like a repeater.
The security guard said there were at least 500 foreigners in the night market. If placed in previous years, the number of “500 people” is obviously too small: According to statistics provided by the management of Sanding Road Night Market, Yiwu Market Development Service Center Co., Ltd., in 2019, Sanding Road Night Market received foreigners throughout the year. About 400,000 passengers.
Although there are many fewer foreign faces, this does not affect the popularity of the night market. On May 15th and 22nd, the department store area and the food area of Sanding Road Night Market resumed the market. On the day the department store resumed the market, the total number of passengers flowed nearly 40,000, exceeding the average daily passenger flow of previous years; when the dining area restarted a week later, the night market management department broadcast live on a local web forum in Yiwu, attracting a total of 350,000 “cloud shopping and eating”. Yiwu people’s enthusiasm for the return of Sanding Road Night Market can be seen.
The native Zhu Yangjin’s family is on Sanding Road. Although she lives and works in Jinhua City, she always visits the night market downstairs when she returns to Yiwu. In her view, visiting the Santing Road Night Market is part of the daily life of Yiwu people: “From clothes and accessories to daily necessities, from shoes, hats and bags to small appliances, you can buy everything in the night market. More importantly, Here you can eat and drink on the side of the road regardless of your image, or you can bargain with the little boss unscrupulously. Every time I go to the night market, I feel that I am completely released.”
In the night market on Sanding Road, I always feel hot: the night market in the middle of Sanding Road is 350 meters long and 29 meters wide, but it accommodates a total of 839 department store stalls, food and beverage stalls, and convenience service stalls. Night market operators More than 1,800 people. Coupled with the dense passenger flow in the night market, the temperature here may be several degrees higher than the surrounding area. This kind of “hotness” is also a concrete manifestation of consumer enthusiasm, which can be transformed into statistics: in 2019, Sanding Road Night Market received nearly 10 million visitors and consumers, and achieved a turnover of 256 million yuan.
Not only locals, but in Yiwu, where merchants gather, Sanding Road Night Market is also popular with outsiders. Zhu Gaohang, the person in charge of Sanding Road Night Market Management Office, told reporters quite proudly that Sanding Road Night Market has always been the number one “net celebrity check-in spot” in Yiwu: “You go online to search for’Where is Yiwu fun’, the first one to jump out? The result must be our night market.”
Yiwu Night market upgrade history
If Yiwu people’s enthusiasm for night markets nourishes Yiwu’s “night economy”, then the unique commercial atmosphere of Yiwu, a “city on the market”, is the soil where the night economy takes root.
In the late 1980s, the Sanding Road Night Market took shape. At that time, the capital of small commodities was in the ascendant. A small spontaneously formed night market appeared at the junction of Xianqian Street and Nanmen Street, not far from the current Sanding Road Night Market. According to Zhang Xu, a veteran employee of the Yiwu Market Development Service Center, there were nearly 40 people setting up stalls in this area, selling small commodities purchased from the market to earn the difference: “Most of them were laid-off workers and residents living in difficulties. Some of them are people who go to work during the day and do a small business at night to subsidize their families.”
Wu Rujian, 65 this year, is one of them. Old Wu was originally a worker in a local building materials factory, and he couldn’t help but be moved when he saw someone around him making money by buying small commodities. However, at that time, the small commodity market in Yiwu had been upgraded to the third generation. Not only was it difficult to find shops, but also had a certain capital threshold: “The rent of shops plus the cost of goods procurement, less to say, cost 40,000 to 50,000 yuan. For ordinary people like us, Working families can’t even think about it.”
The night market in Xianqian Street gave Wu Rujian hope. He wholesaled tens of yuan worth of underwear and children’s clothing from the market, and started his business career with a piece of plastic sheeting: “Plastic sheeting is spread on the ground and the goods are placed on the top, even if it is opened.” Just, Liandi business was still somewhat indecent in Lao Wu’s view at the time. Sometimes when an acquaintance passed by, he always lowered his head subconsciously for fear of avoiding it.
Xianqian Street and Nanmen Street were the most popular areas in Yiwu at that time, and the night market was booming every night. The shorts with the purchase price of 5 cents are sold for 7 cents, and each pair has a net profit of 2 cents. After a few days of stalling, Wu Rujian can make at least 2 yuan a day, and even 5 yuan a night when business is good. It should be noted that in 1985, the national average monthly salary of employees was about 96 yuan. Old Wu’s income was considerable, and his original feeling of “indecent” has gradually faded.
The night market is booming day by day, but the existence of the night market has caused chaos in the surrounding sanitary environment and traffic order. The night market must be managed, but how? “Banning is not the style of Yiwu.” Zhang Xu said that after obtaining the approval of the municipal government, the industrial and commercial administration began to approve and apply for business licenses for night market operators. As a result, setting up stalls indiscriminately became a legal business, and Wu’s waist became straighter again.
In 1991, Wu Rujian’s wife was laid off from a leather shoe factory and started the night market business with her husband. Two years later, the night market moved to the newly built Workers Road at the time. In order to shelter from the wind and rain, the stalls of the business households have been upgraded to shelves and temporary sheds. The scale of the night market has also been further expanded, with more than 500 stalls and an annual turnover of more than 600,000 yuan.
“At that time, no one thought it was not decent to do a night market. Among the people who set up a stall with me, there were even teachers and doctors.” Wu Rujian said, “We did a night market back then, just like the old man and old lady dancing square dance. “
Business and relationship
In 1995, the Yiwu Administration for Industry and Commerce established a market development service center to be responsible for the operation and management of the night market. Two years later, the night market changed its location again and moved into the nearby Yiwu Knitting Market to carry out business activities in the form of “a dual purpose”: during the day, the knitting business in the market goes on normally; after closing at night, the night market operators are in the shop A stall is set up on the outer passage.
Peng Hongxi started his night market career during the “dual use” period. In 1999, this Jiangxi native who wanted to do business had been a wage earner in Yiwu for several years, which really meant nothing. So the restless Peng Hongxi stepped on a tricycle, carrying shirts and a simple wire bed wholesale from Yiwu Huangyuan Clothing Market, and fought guerrillas on the streets of Yiwu.
After all, Peng Hongxi’s “business” is illegally setting up stalls, and playing cat and mouse games with urban management in fear every day is not a long-term solution after all. So, he finally applied for a business license in a proper manner, and walked into the night market with a shirt and a wire bed. Perhaps because he really has a talent for doing business, Peng Hongxi made more than 10,000 yuan in his first year in the night market business: “I worked for two years and saved a total of more than 2,000 yuan. It was the night market that allowed me to dig into my life. First pot of gold.”
In 2001, the night market moved for the last time, and it came to the current Santing Road. The business scale of the night market has expanded again and again, and the small bosses in the night market have gradually grown into big bosses. In 2011, Peng Hongxi left the night market and rented a shop in Huangyuan Market, where he first batched goods that year, and started a foreign trade business. “The past 10 years of practicing a stall as a night market is indeed a kind of experience for me. The night market was made for a livelihood, and there were no ambitious goals. But it was in the process of practicing the stall that I accumulated wealth and accumulated business. Experience.” Peng Hongxi said.
As the business grows, some people choose to leave, while others choose to stay. Qiu Xiaojin, a native of Hubei, has been doing business in Yiwu Night Market for 16 years. Now he has three stalls on Santing Road, mainly selling underwear for men and women. The rent for one year is even higher than that of shops in Yiwu International Trade. He hurried back to Yiwu from his hometown in Xiaogan as soon as he received the notice of the resumption of the night market. Qiu Xiaojin said that he has feelings for the night market, even “more feelings for his hometown”.
Qiu Xiaojin said frankly that, affected by the epidemic, fewer foreign businessmen came to Yiwu. And nearly one-third of his business originally relied on these foreigners visiting the night market, and his business was inevitably affected after the resumption of the market. But even so, he still intends to insist: “After so many years, how can I just let it go. After this period of time, there will always be a turning point.”
Also choosing to stay behind is the 52-year-old Yiwu native Jin Zuoyue. Selling shoes in the night market for many years, the day and night are reversed: “I went to Santing Road at 4pm and spent half an hour setting up the sheds and shelves, and then waited until 5am to officially open. After the business was done, the stalls closed in the middle of the night and I went home at 3am. Go to bed and get up until 11 noon to get the goods. It has been like this almost every day for more than 20 years.”
As a night market, Jin Zuoyue said that he plans to be at least 60 years old because he is used to this kind of life and enjoys it: “Occasionally a friend asks me to have a meal and drink, I I said that I have to wait until I close the stall. If you can afford it, you can wait, and if you can’t wait, you will leave.”
Latecomers top
Backed by Yiwu’s massive commodity resources, Sanding Road Night Market has a unique advantage. The flexible operation method of the night market not only has less risk of “squeezing goods” for operators, but also has relatively low operating costs. The government’s management and guidance also provide guarantee and support for the healthy development of the night market. For entrepreneurs who dream of being a boss, the night market is undoubtedly an excellent platform.
At a time when the global epidemic and the world economic situation are still complicated, Sanding Road Night Market has also ushered in a number of latecomers.
Li Xiaoqing was admitted to a graduate school in Anhui this year. Maybe it was because Yiwu people were born with the gene of “changing chicken feathers for sugar”. Before going abroad to study for a master’s degree, she decided to do a small business with her friends. After the resumption of the Sanding Road Night Market, a number of temporary stalls were released, and Li Xiaoqing rented one of them for less than 50 yuan a day. Last Friday night, Li Xiaoqing and his companions dragged mobile shelves and children’s clothing worth less than 1,000 yuan and went out of the stall.
“The turnover is about 300 yuan, which is basically in line with our expectations.” Li Xiaoqing closed the stall early at 11pm due to the physical discomfort of her companion. She felt good as the boss on the first day. “I think it’s quite fun. Will continue to contribute, as it is a social practice.”
Li Xiaoqing told reporters that her graduate studies majored in design, which is not related to business style. However, as a Yiwu native, I must never give up every opportunity to do business: “Study is back to school, and business is back to business. Doing a night market is on the one hand hobbies, and on the other hand, it can also make a little bit of subsidy. Is it bigger?”
Lin Zhangzhang, the female boss of Wenzhou, has more realistic considerations. She has been operating foreign trade jewelry in the first phase of Yiwu International Trade City for many years. The sudden new crown pneumonia epidemic caught her off guard: a large number of overseas orders were cancelled, and she lacked experience and channels to switch to the domestic market. Together with a few little sisters who were doing business in Yiwu, Lin Zhangzhang decided to come to the night market to “dump inventory”.
“I came to investigate and research today, and I want to pick a good place. Now that I have done it, I must do it seriously.” Lin Zhangzhang said, she and her sisters are very optimistic about the future night market business. “There is a lot of people and young people. There are also a lot of people. Our little sisters sell everything, accessories, shoes, clothing, bags… After the stalls are set up, there will be no worries about sales. Now we all say that we want to “turn from the outside to the inside”, so we start with retail. rise.”
He Rui, a 22-year-old guy from Guizhou, only visited Yiwu for the first time in March this year. He was in a store in the local “stock street”, specializing in the export of umbrellas. He Rui claims to be lucky, and his inventory business has been doing well since its opening. The young man was very active, holding the idea of making more money if he made more money, he expanded his business, wholesale T-shirts from the inventory street, and sold them at the Sanding Road Night Market.
In Yiwu, there is Qingyan Liucun for e-commerce and Beixiazhucun for live broadcast. But in He Rui’s view, whether it is e-commerce or live broadcast, it may have missed the best time to enter the game: “It is difficult to do e-commerce traffic, and live broadcast also missed the outlet. It is better to do a night market here. , The most traditional retail method may not be without money.”
The reporter chatted with a group of businessmen all night, and the night market closed. After the clearing, nothing seemed to happen on the short Santing road. The scent of skewers and the shouts of businessmen dissipated in the night, while the smoke of the city remained in people’s minds.
Behind the fireworks is a city prospered by the market, people’s pursuit of wealth, grasp of opportunities, and love of life.
