Related stories

Liu Bi Ju's Small Pickles and Big Business Serviced Officers: Start Business with a Computer Revel in Pinggu’s Peach Blossoms Tongchunyuan Restaurant: Fine Dining Jiangsu Style 30 Years of Reform and Opening Up, What Has Beijing Won

Historical Passion

Locals in old Beijing used to judge how rich a person was by whether they were wearing Majuyuan hats, Neiliansheng shoes or Ruifuxiang clothes, all of which could be purchased at Beijing's Dong'an Market, the predecessor of today's Sun Dong'an Plaza shopping centre. But one could also find the latest in western-style watches, jewellery or other goods at this famous Time Honoured Brand's bazaar in Wangfujing.

The Dong'an Market, which has existed for more than a century, is an old name on Beijing's retail scene. It has experienced and weathered the ups and downs of one of Beijing's busiest commercial hubs, the Wangfujing Shopping Area.

Dong'an practically invented the department store concept in Beijing, but unlike the glimmering glass-covered skyscrapers of today's Wangfujing Dajie (Street), such as Oriental Plaza, when it first came into being, it was more like an Arabian souk or bazaar, where locals went to browse its aisles and laneways.

Located near Dong'an Men, in present day Dongcheng District, the Dong'an Market opened in 1903, filled with mobile food vendors, grocery stores, clothes hawkers and small restaurants lining the east side of the road. The best tanghulu, or crystalline sugar-coated haws on a stick, a typical old Beijing snack, were sold by Dong'an Market's food stores back then. Most of these stores were not very large, but were booming businesses nonetheless. The overall scene resembled a temple fare and included various kinds of acrobatic performances. Vaudeville-type artists made great contributions to the Dong'an Market and helped promote its businesses. Vendors had their own distinct, rhythmic calls. Many old Beijingers still can recall their colourful performances. On the west side of the road, stores sold antiques and ancient books; many celebrities frequented this shopping area.

What's more, because the Dong'an Market was located near foreign embassies, many western style products could be found there as well. Visitors flooded into the market to purchase the most fashionable goods or just to take a look at the so-called yanghuo (goods produced in foreign countries).

Dong'an Market came into its prime after 1949, when it grew to feature 586 stores of all kinds. Time Honoured Brands such as Daoxiangcun, a Beijing-based cake producer, Donglaishun, a hotpot restaurant, the Yameili Jewellery Store, could be found there providing customers with products of wide range. Even then, the Dong'an Market was an entertainment centre with its Jixiang Theatre, bookstores and teahouses. Many came for the market's tasty food, which included a feast of Chinese cuisines and those from foreign countries. Visitors could find all kinds of products here, from expensive jewellery to low-cost snacks.

As with other laozihao in Beijing, the Dong'an Market has changed with the times, becoming a shopping mall in 1965. In 1988, the Dong'an Market Group was established, the first retail group in China. Since then, many shopping malls and department stores have come and gone and grown and prospered in the capital.

Now entering a new age, the Dong'an Market's leadership is updating all of its operations. In 1992, the Beijing Municipal Government approved plans to redevelop Wangfujing into a commercial hub comparable to the Champs-Elysees in Paris. In 1993, the renovation of the Dong'an Market began, and in cooperation with the Sun Hung Kai Company, Limited, of Hong Kong, the Dong’an Market has been transformed into a modern shopping mall and re-named the Sun Dong'an Plaza (东安市场).

But in a new Beijing that is preparing to host the 2008 Olympic Games, the competition for shoppers is intensifying, with other mall developers striving to take advantage of Beijing's booming retail scene, fuelled by the improving living standards and higher spending power of the Chinese people and visitors to Beijing.

Beijing's retail market is dominated by wildly popular, ultramodern shopping centres and hypermarkets. Traditional department stores are struggling in the increasingly competitive environment, and this is forcing them to offer extra shopping discounts or to distribute cash coupons to attract customers. To compete with rival players, many store operators are working to strengthen their appeal by incorporating new attractions such as dining and entertainment facilities.

But branding is also a crucial element in the marketing contest.

Brands that foster an emotional connection with their consumers can become an intrinsic part of their everyday lives. It's therefore not surprising that the newly renovated Dong'an Market would seek to retain its time-tested relationship with its local customers.

More shoppers have rewarded the company for its redevelopment, offering new business opportunities for Sun Dong'an Market. The group's restructuring of its shopping-centre tenant mix has resulted in its offerings of more international brands and a more upscale shopping image.

But, not forgetting its past, the store has added a historical "Old Beijing Street" to retain the ambience of old Beijing and its tastes, with buildings and roofs modelled after a traditional Beijing neighbourhood. There are more than 20 stalls offering old Beijing favourites such as handicrafts, traditional snacks, imperial cuisine and famous brand names. Traditional-styled decorations can be found along with regular displays of Chinese art, attracting many visitors from China's provinces and regions and from around the world.

Today, customers, young and old, can still find the much-loved traditional confections, like tanghulu, at the Dong'an Market. Although all kinds of snacks are available nowadays, made by either local or overseas manufacturers, old Beijingers remain staunch tanghulu fans. But, eating trends are changing. Every year, the snack bar at Dong'an Market presents new snack varieties with bananas, strawberries, cherries and tomatoes.

Though tanghulu are also popular in many other cities in North and Northeast China, they have become sort of unofficial, non-dancing logo of Beijing, just like the ever-present Dong'an Market on Wangfujing Dajie.