Besides ducks and walls, visitors that come to Beijing in search of an authentic local experience have likely singled out the city’s wholesale markets to score some deals. But, for all the cultural traditions that haggling symbolizes, these markets have unfortunately become an exclusive experience that caters more towards tourists rather than local residents.

Silk Street Market, Panjiayuan Market, and Laitai Flower Market have now become the few wholesale markets that have outlasted Beijing’s ongoing urban rejuvenation campaign that has claimed dozens of similar victims over the past few years. As tenacious as they are against yielding, their success could likely be in part to their familiarity among expats and their location in the high-traffic tourist areas.

With a future full of staffless stores and online shopping, Beijing locals will be less prone to frequent wholesale markets especially as they continue to disappear, the latest being Guanyuan Wholesale Market, set to permanently close its doors on Sep 28.

After serving the community for 20 years, Guanyuan will force out 1,000 sellers as part of Beijing’s campaign to relocate non-essential services. After renovation, the 30,000-square-meter facility will no longer accommodate small-scale commodity sales.

With last week’s news that Top Century will shut down at the end of August, the closures have been nothing but a bloodbath – especially when referencing our 2016 round-up of Beijing’s remaining wholesale markets.

The wholesale market closures include Alien Street, Tianyi Market, Tianyu Market, Tianhe Baima Market, Dongding Market, Wantong Market, the Ladies’ Street Market and a number of venues around the Beijing Zoo as well as Shiji Tianle and Zhonghe. Also recently shuttered are Wuxing Market near Dazhongsi, the Huaxiang Wholesale Plant Market, the Muxiyuan Fabric Market while the Liangma Flower Market just closed this past June. Yashow Market in the heart of Sanlitun and once the epicenter of cheap clothing and knick-knacks to take home, remains in wait for its overhaul by Swire Properties.

Meanwhile, the future of other remaining markets doesn’t look hopeful. The Guanyuan Bird and Fish Market remains open despite having suffered a “brickening” this past March, while the merchants at the Hongqiao Market are expected to soon be pushed out in favor of a “cultural experience center.”

However, what remains does not necessarily resemble what used to be. For example, many of the vendors of the newly renovated 258 Maizidian Electronic World were forced out due to inflated rent; at the same time, Silk Street prefers to focus upon a “one-stop immersive experience” for its tourists (shown above).

All the same, the wholesale markets left standing are some of the few places where you can haggle in Beijing, thereby making it a quaint experience for visitors that don’t necessarily represent the city, a phenomenon reflected in the insect edibles found along Wangfujing pedestrian street.

But don’t feel you need to brush up on your Mandarin; merchants are more than willing to speak English with you.

Sound appealing? Want to experience haggling for yourself? Here are Beijing’s four remaining central wholesale markets that remain open:

Silk Street Market
Daily 9am-9pm. 8 Xiushui Dongjie, Jianguomenwai Dajie, Chaoyang District (5169 8800) 
秀水街：朝阳区建国门外大街秀水东街8号

Panjiayuan Market
Mon-Fri 8.30am-6pm, Sat-Sun 4.30am-6pm. Off of Southeast Third Ring Road, West of Panjiayuan Qiao, Chaoyang District (6775 2405) 
潘家园旧货市场：朝阳区潘家园桥西边

Laitai Flower Market
Mon-Thu 9am-6pm, Fri-Sun 9am-6.30 pm. 9 Maizidian Xilu, Chaoyang District (6463 6145) 
莱太花卉市场：朝阳区麦子店西路9号

Images: Shakespeare Mocha, Baidu, PC Auto, Sina Blog
This post first appeared on our sister site, the Beijinger. See more stories from this author here.

After a week of flood disaster relief in its northern end, Beijing was hit with more rains from the first typhoon to reach the city in over a decade.

Beijing issued a citywide yellow alert for rain yesterday morning after Typhoon Ampil made its arrival since Monday night, dropping an average of 2.4 centimeters of precipitation in 12 hours. The heaviest rainfall fell on parts of Tongzhou, which received over 10 centimeters over the same time and was been issued a local orange alert for rain, as had the districts of Pingu and Miyun. The government has issued a continued warning for potential mudslides in these outer-city areas.

Some 18,171 Beijing residents have been evacuated, of which over 5,000 come from Miyun where relief efforts have continued since last week when it was hit by heavy rains.

With the city raising a Category III emergency response, some 165 scenic areas remain closed as heavy rains and flood conditions spring up around the city.

Eighty-six flights were canceled by Tuesday afternoon at Beijing Capital International Airport, which issued an orange alert for its flight status.

Meanwhile, flooding was reported throughout the city, such as this intersection in Niulanshan, Shunyi:

And this street near the Joy City Mall in Chaoyang:

As the 10th typhoon of the year, Ampil made landfall at Shanghai on Sunday, bringing with it winds traveling at 28 meters per second at its eye. Typhoon Ampil prompted the evacuation of 220,000 people from flood-prone coastal areas as well as the cancelation of at least 600 flights from Shanghai’s two airports.

Despite all the havoc, Ampil has caused Shanghai, Beijing isn’t as likely to bear the typhoon’s wrath. Rains stopped around yesterday afternoon, and it is forecast to remain dry for the rest of the week.

For as much precipitation Beijing has received over the past week, there is not much of a precedent in which typhoons are to blame. Typhoon Matsa, the last typhoon to reach Beijing in 2005, only brought light rainfall to the capital despite causing 25 direct deaths and 18 billion yuan worth of damage throughout China.

More stories from this author here.

E-Mail: charlesliu1 (at) qq (dot) com
Twitter: @Sinopath

Images: BJ News, Weibo (1, 2)

Downtown Beijing’s most famous tourist destination will be out of commission for an entire year as the Tian’anmen Rostrum will undergo renovations from this Friday, Jun 15 until late April 2019.

The State Administration of Cultural Heritage has ordered the popular landmark to be waterproofed, replaced with new pipes and equipment, and receive repairs for painting and maintenance.

Situated at the north end of Tian’anmen Square, Tian’anmen Rostrum is the famous red wall upon which Chairman Mao Zedong proclaimed the founding of the People’s Republic of China on Oct 1, 1949.

Mao’s portrait continues to serve as the centerpiece of the iconic landmark, and has itself been repaired and replaced with one of its many duplicates. Flanking the portrait on both sides are the messages “Long live the People’s Republic of China” and “Long live the great unity of the peoples of the world.”

First built in 1417, Tian’anmen was originally named Chengtianmen (Gate of Heavenly Succession) before it was given its current name, which means “Gate of Heavenly Peace.”

The Tian’anmen Rostrum was last closed for maintenance in the summer of 2015when it was shut down for just over a month as well as back in 2011 (shown above).

Although they won’t be able to take photos with the famous landmark, tourists may not be out of luck. In order to appease crowds of photo-snapping visitors, Tsinghua University erected a fake version of its iconic north gate when it underwent a month-long repair this past spring (shown below).

Meanwhile, tourists coming to Beijing will also face restrictions when visited the city’s other famous tourist hotspot as the Palace Museum announced that it will be closed on Mondays beginning in June for an indefinite period of time. However, the former seat of imperial power will open its doors to visitors on public holidays.

More stories from this author here.

E-Mail: charlesliu1 (at) qq (dot) com
Twitter: @Sinopath

Images: Xinhua, SCMP, China Daily

For all the advantages that living in Beijing can provide for an expat — and there are many, including exorbitant salaries, cheap local costs, and easily making new language partners — the unfortunate trade-off is that many of us will be making up the difference when it comes to some of the most expensive international school tuitions in the world.

According to the International Schools Database, Beijing has the second-highest tuition costs out of a list of 40 international cities, second only to Shanghai.

Following China’s lead, Switzerland dominated the list with three of its cities named in the top ten (Lausanne, Zurich, and Geneva at third, fourth and sixth place, respectively). The Canadian city of Toronto came in fifth place.

It was Beijing’s first appearance on the list, which was restricted to just 25 international cities last year. On both lists, Shanghai claimed top position while Copenhagen, Denmark was either last or next-to-last.

However, no matter what critics may say, there is an advantage to living in Beijing. When compared to average rental prices in expat areas, the average international school tuition costs in Beijing fall to fourth place against the same list of cities, coming in after Hanoi, Brussels, and Ho Chi Minh City.

According to the study, the average Beijing international school’s tuition (USD 2,519) costs 20 percent more than the average expat rental cost (USD 2,091), making a huge significance in what is precisely offered in expat salary and educational packages.

As pricey as that may be, expats may find Beijing’s other advantages to be especially alluring.

Despite its position as the capital of China and a first-tier city, Beijing is only rated as the fifth-most expensive city for expats in China, falling well behind Hong Kong, Shanghai, Shenzhen, and Dalian. What’s more, if you want to get the most bang for your buck, expats can also take advantage of Beijing’s ever-expanding subway system for making their commute from their apartment out in the city’s less expensive suburbs.

As an expat, you’ll find that weighing the trade-offs is a recurring aspect of your life. If you’re willing to live in a less-than-expat-tier area while taking a mode of transportation that isn’t a taxi or car share, you’d also probably be more willing to look into alternatives besides international schools.

All in all, if you have set your sights on Beijing international schools, we can only hope that you get what you pay for.

This post first appeared on our sister site, the Beijinger. See more stories by this author here.
Photo: Beijing Relocation

Your privacy in exchange for convenience: that’s the continuing trade-off the Beijing Metro commuters as the city’s public transportation system is set to introduce facial recognition technology to subway station entrances before the end of the year.

No specific details have been announced yet, but a subway spokesperson said the company plans to incorporate biometric authentication as part of subway entrance policies, thereby suggesting that commuters that allow their faces to be recorded and scanned may be allowed to cross subway security checkpoint without having to submit to a baggage search.

We cannot say for sure if this is the case; it could be that face-scanning may just be used as a way to pay for subway fares. And yet, this seems to be a safe bet when considering the way the city has long been looking to adopt this technology.

Last year, the head of the Beijing Municipal Public Security Bureau said the city will promote the use of facial recognition technology at subway security inspection areas as a way to reduce waiting times for the public.

Besides using a transport card or paying for a one-way ticket, there have never been more ways for Beijing commuters to pay for their subway fares.

This past week, Beijing Metro formally adopted a QR system reading system that allows commuters to pay for fares using e-commerce systems like Alipay and WePay (shown above). In the 20 days since it was introduced last month, some 5.32 million Beijing commuters have used the service, mostly traveling on Lines 10 and 4.

The year before that, the Beijing Metro introduced a new feature that allowed Android users to bind their transport cards to their phones, a feature finally offered to iPhone users this past April.

Even though these new features are not mandatory, the Beijing Metro is unabashedly accepting that they are nothing short of necessary in light of the subway’s inefficient and crowded service. As a Beijing Metro spokesperson said, commuters who don’t sign up for the QR code service are forced to endure a 30-minute-long wait to buy subway tickets at certain stations.

Facial recognition technology is already widely-used throughout Beijing at train stations, airports, staffless convenience stores, fast food restaurants, universities, and public restrooms, and was even used as part of the Didi Hitch destination-sharing car ride app.

This post first appeared on our sister site, the Beijinger. See more stories from this author here.
Photos: Qihoo, Jieman

The Beijing Municipal Environmental Protection Bureau triumphantly released a report recently that said local air quality has improved over the first four months of 2018. And yet, when we hear about this complimentary report, we can’t help but recall all the times that the sky above Beijing was less than ideal.

While average year-on-year PM2.5 levels decreased by 22 percent to 59 micrograms per square meter, the capital saw its days with good air quality increase four days to 77 days between January and April. During the same period, heavily polluted days decreased from eight to seven.

The good news comes despite a 21 percent increase in local PM2.5 levels to 64 micrograms per square meter in April as well as 20 percent increase in PM2.5 and PM10 levels in March, resulting in a good-to-bad daily air quality ratio of just 51 percent.

Placing those statistics in a side-by-side comparison doesn’t make the PM2.5 decrease that impressive, not when considering the spring sandstorms that pummeled Beijing and caused AQI levels to exceed 400.

Is the air quality in Beijing actually improving? Although the news certainly suggests this is the case, it’s difficult to make comparisons when the units keep changing.

Instead of a quarterly report, the Beijing Municipal Environmental Protection Bureau reported a 19 percent drop in PM2.5 levels between January and May of 2016, something they then applied to a ten-month span between January and October of 2016 when the same local authority reported a year-on-year PM2.5 decrease of 9 percent over the same time.

Just by looking out the window, the simplest explanation is that air quality is definitely improving in Beijing; some reports suggest that Beijing is improving its air pollution at a much faster rate than post-industrial UK.

Here’s the final statistic for you: even though Beijing has successfully met its 2013 State Council-mandated goal of keeping its average 2017 level of PM2.5 to just 58 micrograms per square meter, this is still nearly six times the recommended level given by the World Health Organization.

More stories from this author here.

E-Mail: charlesliu1 (at) qq (dot) com
Twitter: @Sinopath

Images: Weibo

Chinese media is raising the alarm over one of the year’s most popular toys for being a safety risk to children, a warning that comes years after previous warnings had already been made.

Last week, an 11-year-old Qinghuangdao boy was the latest child to fall victim to magnetic beads, small balls with magnetic properties that can be arranged to build intricate designs and models, or even jewelry and sculptures. The boy had 21 magnetic beads surgically removed from his intestines after the individual magnets bonded into a single, looping mass.

On its own, a magnetic bead won’t do much internal damage upon being swallowed. However, when swallowed in multiple quantities, the mutual attraction of magnetic beads is strong enough to perforate intestinal walls and cause serious medical problems.

Now recovered, the unidentified boy had been vomiting and suffering from a high fever for four to five days before he was finally brought to Beijing Children’s Hospital for surgery, the only possible method for extracting magnetic beads from inside a body.

And, as it were, the Hebei boy is only the latest of many victims in this ongoing trend.

According to Beijing Children’s Hospital emergency room surgeon Liu Tingting, her hospital has treated one or two patients every month so far this year for swallowing bubble magnets, a trend that coincides with the toys growing popularity among Chinese parents.

As the Beijing Morning Post reports, magnetic beads have become such a hot-selling toy this season that stores are having trouble keeping up with demand. However, despite being a safety hazard for young children, magnetic beads have come to be known as a “children’s developmental toy” that is sold in stores in areas around Chinese schools and kindergartens.

If that wasn’t enough, retailers aren’t keeping up with safety regulations. Even though different store employees have told the Beijing Morning Post different answer that range between eight and fourteen as being the youngest suitable age, child care specialists say magnetic beads are not suitable for children under the age of six.

Besides last week’s case, other recent bubble magnetic victims include a two-year-old Jiangxi boy who thought the six magnetic beads he swallowed to be “candy” as well as an 11-year-old Nanjing boy who shoved 12 bubble magnets up his urethra because he was “curious.”

And yet, despite the threat they pose towards children, magnetic beads have caused problems as far back as 2015 when a four-year-old Zhenjiang girl named Xiaomiao became dangerously ill after swallowing ten bubble magnets. A report from that time warned parents to be mindful of the toys they select for their children, ensuring that they don’t give them anything that is smaller than the opening of their mouths.

Developmental toys are part of a trend among middle-class Chinese parents to prepare pre-school children with tools that may give them a winning edge in an education system where competition begins at kindergarten and lasts until the gaokao university entrance exam. When not reciting or studying, Chinese children are given toys like Rubik’s Cubes in order to stimulate their minds.

Made from rare earth elements, magnetic beads may be better known by commercial names that include Buckyballs, Zen Magnets, and Neoballs. Magnetic beads were banned in the USA in 2014 after two-year-old Annaka Chaffin died from swallowing seven magnet balls but had its ban lifted two years later.

As hysterias go, magnetic balls are not the first toys to grip Chinese parents in fear. Previously raised media outcries included warnings against stink bombs and miniature crossbows that could fire toothpicks.

More stories from this author here.

E-Mail: charlesliu1 (at) qq (dot) com
Twitter: @Sinopath

Images: cszTV, Weibo, aihami, lolWut, buckyballscube

China’s booming online food delivery platforms are again facing another food safety scandal amid revelations that the industry’s registration safeguards can be easily circumvented through black market intermediaries that happen to be just as readily available online as the food platforms themselves.

An undercover investigation by Chinese investigative media organization Serious Case #47 showed that online restaurant certification can be bought from certain QQ groups for prices ranging from RMB 800 to 1,500 (USD 136 to USD 237).

According to an intermediary named Lin Feng, anyone with an identification number and a bank card can successfully apply for the fake credentials. As Lin boasted to the Serious Case #47 undercover reporter, “We can help you get a business license and a food license which will allow you to open a shop address within 300 meters of your actual operating location.”

But it’s not just licensing; the undercover investigation also revealed that opportunistic restaurateurs can get in on the lucrative online food delivery industry even without the hassle of certification, real or otherwise.

Puhuang Restaurant on Anlelin Road, Dongcheng District

A Serious Case #47 reporter was able to track down a Beijing restaurant named Puhuang in Dongcheng District (shown above) that was willing to rent out part of its space for RMB 8,000 a month; in return, the renter would be able to operate as an online food provider underneath the Puhuang business license.

As it turned out, a total of 13 different online food providers have been sharing the same Puhuang business certification.

The undercover report comes six months after government regulations cracked down on lax registration and certification practices for Chinese O2O food platorms. Implemented by the national food and drug inspection agency, the regulations were specifically designed to outlaw “phantom” food providers that operated without business or food operator licenses.

In 2016, China’s online food delivery platform suffered a series of food safety scandals; Ele.me was caught using food providers without proper food catering certifications that ultimately resulted in a USD 19,000 fine, but the public backlash would finally hit its peak when 20 customers came down with food poisoning from ordering from Shanghai online food delivery platforms.

Besides government regulations, the industry vowed to clean up its act. Meituan Vice President Wang Puzhong claimed his company’s “Skynet system” ensured customer safety and satisfaction by automating the registration and verification of all of its food providers through network auditing and supervision. What’s more, Beijing’s O2O food delivery industry developed its own self-inspection systemlast September that would be readily available for the public to access.

Chinese online food delivery customers surged to 295 million users over the first half of 2017. Every single day, 1.8 million orders are in Beijing alone, culminating in daily sales worth about 100 million yuan.

Each of the top three Chinese O2O food providers has a massive online presence. Baidu Take-out offers 4,413 online food providers while Meituan and Ele.me offer 7,247, and 7,926 selections, respectively.

It’s hard not to imagine our lives nowadays without numerous apps and online services upon which we depend for conveniences on a daily basis. And yet, technological security features such as a facial recognition registration system failed to protect a 21-year-old stewardess who was raped and murdered by her Didi Hitch driver in what has become China’s current top trending public safety story.

Fair to say that Beijing residents fond of ordering take-out should limit their selections to brick-and-mortar locations that they know to actually exist.

More stories from this author here.

E-Mail: charlesliu1 (at) qq (dot) com
Twitter: @Sinopath

Images: Sina Finance, Kanshangjie

News on Wednesday detailed how excited Universal Studios Beijing investors have doubled their investment from USD 3.3 billion to USD 6.5 billion even as Chinese authorities try to dampen enthusiasm towards the country’s booming theme park industry.

The investment by Universal Parks & Resorts and five state-owned Chinese entities that have amalgamated beneath the Beijing Shouhuan Cultural Tourism Investment Company will be the largest ever made for a theme park, reported the Wall Street Journal.

The investment surpasses the USD 5.5 billion investment made into Shanghai Disneyland, which broke even in its first year of operation by welcoming some 11 million park visitors.

The greatly-improved budget for Universal Studios Beijing is said to increase park space and broaden the scope of its attractions. The future theme park will also feature a CityWalk shopping and entertainment district as well as the world’s first in-park, Universal Studios-branded hotel. Buoyed by the success of the House of the Mouse to the south, Universal Studios Beijing is now expecting some 10 million visitors in its first year of operations.

As well, the first Universal Studios Beijing ride attraction has been officially confirmed to be “Fast & Furious Supercharged.” Stars of the multi-sequel gear-shifting family-bonding franchise had revealed the news last week when they helped open the movie-themed attraction at Universal Studios Orlando.

But with hundreds of theme parks opening around the country, China’s central planning body warned prospective builders in April to be wary of local debt build-up and low-grade developments. And yet, theme parks continue to be a lucrative business in China, rising 27 percent from 2016 to reach USD 6 billion last year, according to market researcher Mintel. And with revenues expected to hit USD 14 billion by 2022, China’s theme park industry will soon surpass the USA.

First announced in 2014, the opening date for Universal Studios Beijing has been pushed back a number of times, most recently to 2020. Although it has undergone a number of changes since its inception, the theme park will most likely incorporate Chinese elements into its design to help cater to local visitors at a rate reported in the Chinese press as being 35 percent.

When complete, Universal Studios Beijing will join the ranks of other local theme parks like Happy Valley and Shijingshan. Beijing residents will be able to access the southeastern-located theme park by subway.

More stories from this author here.

E-Mail: charlesliu1 (at) qq (dot) com 
Twitter: @Sinopath

Images: Weibo