Photos of the Beijing zoo area wholesale market relocation

konjaku: the policy to “use industry types to control population,” that is, to relocate low-end industries and businesses outside of Beijing, especially to areas in Hebei, as a way of driving out those who depend on these businesses, has undergone its own process of formulation. For instance, China Daily (English) posted on 2014-04-10, that 207 companies in the chemical, construction material and casting industries were slated to be moved out of Beijing, because these “consume huge amounts of energy, cause serious pollution, and yield limited revenue.” There may be areas of severe unemployment in Hebei that would welcome any type of industry, but this proposal seems to have run into problems. The same day China Daily posted another article stating that there never was any such list of 207 enterprises.

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/opinion/2014-04/10/content_17421240.htm
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/business/2014-04/10/content_17424442.htm

Compared to a plan on this scale, moving the wholesale markets either seems to be settling for less, or to be just one part of a larger ambition. In any case, the change, in terms of peoples’ lives and livelihoods, has been documented in a number of evocative photographs.

The markets before relocation began:

http://finance.people.com.cn/n/2014/0903/c1004-25597569.html

Photos of the markets emptying and people moving their merchandise

http://pic.fashion.sohu.com/detail-549919-0.shtml#0
http://photo.gmw.cn/2014-04/02/content_10879928.htm
http://slide.news.sina.com.cn/c/slide_1_2841_49086.html?img=388790#p=1

Here is a selection (click on photos to enlarge):

Before

and after

businesses starting to leave