Earlier this year we reported that many of Beijing’s wholesale markets, including the Zoo Market, are to be uprooted and moved further outside of the city (many to as far away as Langfang, Hebei) as part of the government’s ongoing drive to smarten up the city. While it’s hard for many to shed a tear over what’s happening in Fengtai, when we heard rumors over the weekend that the same fate awaited Yashow market we were roused into action. Love it or hate it, Yashow is an essential part of the Sanlitun experience, so we took it upon ourselves to find out more from the people on the ground: the vendors themselves. 

Many will be relieved to know that all of the vendors we chatted to today denied that Yashow was closing, moving or being knocked down, with several citing its favorable location and popularity with foreign tourists. While our undercover reporter feigned interest in a pair of knock-off New Balance, several vendors gathered to tell us that the market may be temporarily shutting down (at least partially) sometime around the end of December for renovations, with the interior being redesigned in a similar style to the Silk Market. If it does in fact fully close, it will only be for a couple of months. 

It remains to be seen what eventual fate awaits Yashow. It is undisputably a major tourist attraction (and, one presumes, moneymaker) but fake goods and rowdy markets are no longer the type of tourism image the Beijing government wants to project. We have also noticed that the number and quality of fakes on offer (at least those on show anyway) has been declining in recent months – yours truly witnessed the top floor watch vendors having their stock confiscated by the police earlier this year in March and most did not return until around a month ago. However, for now at least, it seems Beijing bargain hunters won’t have to take the train to Hebei to bag the latest Hermes purse. 

More stories by this author here.

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Photo: Robynne Tindall/the Beijinger