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Beijing's Xicheng District will bid farewell to one of its last wholesale markets when Tianhe Baima permanentlyshuts down on Nov 13.
After facing imminent closure for over a year, the women's clothing outlet was finally given official notice last week on Nov 1, leaving little time for remaining shopkeepers to conduct clearance sales.
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Out of the twelve wholesale markets that have sprouted up around the Beijing Zoo area, the only ones remaining are Tianhe Baima and Dingdong Market, which will also face end-of-year closing procedures of its own.
Beijing Youth Report quoted an unnamed Xicheng official as saying the space left over from the closed wholesale markets will be rezoned for "science and technology, finance, and environmental services" that are more in keeping with efforts to modernize Beijing.
Unlike other recently shuttered wholesale markets that have served their communities for years, Tianhe Baima was a recent arrival in Beijing, having just opened 40,000 square meters of retail space in March 2013.
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In a coordinated effort with other wholesale markets, Tianhe Baima attempted to rebrand itself as an upscale retail outlet in 2015, a courageous act that local media immediately saw as futile.
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In light of so many wholesale markets getting shut down this year, more than half of Tianhe Baima's 1,039 shops had already decided to close by this past April amid allegations of being unfairly compensated.
As in the case of other shuttered markets, many of the 3,000 ousted shopkeepers have taken to selling online as a way to keep in contact with their Beijing-based customers.
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Last month saw the closure of Ladies' Street Market, joining the likes of Wantong Market, Beijing Zoo Market, Alien Street Market, and Tianyi Market.
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An ongoing urban rejuvenation campaign has seen Beijing clamp down on its non-local residents by shutting down wholesale markets while also relocating non-essential services to its suburbs.
As plans to create a future megacity continue to move forward, Beijing intends to reduce its population by as much as 15 percent before 2020.
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Twitter: @Sinopath
E-mail: charlesliu1@qq.com
