Beijing plans to relocate wholesale markets

The Beijing Zoo is perhaps better known for the sprawling garment wholesale markets nearby than its animals. But now the city's officials are pledging to relocate the markets out of the area to ease overcrowding and optimize urban planning.

The Beijing Zoo is perhaps better known for the sprawling garment wholesale markets nearby than its animals. But now the city's officials are pledging to relocate the markets out of the area to ease overcrowding and optimize urban planning.

A place in the capital to make your yuan go further.

Everyday, the wholesale markets near the Beijing Zoo are jam packed with textiles, fashion accessories, and people betting their money on these merchandise.

But the hustle and bustle of daily business will one day be water under the bridge.

"Growing numbers of visitors and vehicles in recent years have brought huge impacts on the traffic and living conditions around the wholesale market area." Sun Shuo, deputy district mayor of Beijing's Xicheng District, said.

What's worse, the area overlaps with one of the biggest and most perplexing transportation hubs in the city. It's prompted the decision to move the precinct out. For many, this is a long due announcement.

"Loud and noisy all day, it's impossible to live here."

Originally built in the 1980s, the clothing hub near Beijing Zoo covers 300,000 square meters, including at least 10 clothing wholesale markets, around 13,000 stalls, 30,000 employees, and more than 20 logistics companies.

Having been home to thirty years of private business boom, it now sees an average of 100,000 customers a day and an annual trading volume of over 20 billion yuan.

These numbers don't necessarily mean problems.

"People gather around a certain area for a reason. So I think what the government should do is to maintain the benefits, and bring them along with better urban planning." Zhang Wenqi, senior city planner of China Academy Of Urban Planning & Design, said.

Beijing city officials have borne this in mind.

"We're doing more than simply moving markets out of downtown areas. It's not just relocation, but also readjusting the business model of the garment markets and many more similar ones in the city." Sun said.

The details are still up in the air, as is a timetable for the move. But as Sun says, in the future, when people talk about the new garment wholesale market, it would be an entirely different image that springs to mind.