On October 16, 2023, the China News Service reported from Beijing on the remarkable transformation of the city’s aging clothing market over the past decade, highlighting its “new birth.”
Located just west of Beijing’s Second Ring Road, the impressive New Power Financial Technology Center is preparing to host a major fintech conference in two days. Esteemed as a “barometer for China’s financial reform and development,” the 2024 Financial Street Forum Annual Meeting will gather guests from around the world to discuss innovative pathways and methods driving financial innovation in the era of new productivity.
In recent days, I followed the “High-Quality Development Research Tour” focusing on Beijing’s themes, delving into the “Golden Technology New Zone” and the South Axis area to uncover the stories behind the revitalization of the “old market”.
Liu Lin, former deputy director of the Industry Development Department at the North Exhibition Command, reminisces about a decade ago when the building was filled with two or three-square-meter stalls lining its narrow hallways. Vendors were immersed in towering piles of clothing, eager to showcase their goods to a diverse clientele speaking various dialects. On any given day, the building would see a bustling foot traffic of six to ten thousand people.
At that time, the venue was known as the Sida Building, home to approximately 3,000 stores in a clothing market that, along with eleven neighboring markets, constituted the largest clothing wholesale hub in Northern China—the Beijing Zoo Clothing Wholesale Market, commonly referred to as “Dongpi.”
According to the Xicheng District, the “Dongpi” generated an annual economic benefit of around 60 million yuan. However, to tackle surrounding transportation issues and the prevalence of shared housing, the government’s management costs exceeded 100 million yuan each year.
In 2014, the phased closure of “Dongpi” began, culminating in 2017 when all operations were dismantled. By early 2018, Beijing’s government decided to transform the core area of “Dongpi” into a demonstration zone for financial technology and professional services. In January 2019, it received approval from the State Council, advancing to a national-level financial technology demonstration zone, now known as the “Golden Technology New Zone.”
Today, the Wanrong Tiandi Market serves as the headquarters for Qihoo 360, a leading company in the cybersecurity industry, while the Century Tianle Clothing Wholesale Market has been transformed into Beijing’s Financial Technology Center. Every time Liu Lin passes by, he feels as though he is stepping into a different world.
Jin Xin, director of the Xicheng District’s Garden Management Committee, reveals that the area has witnessed a significant shift since its transformation. The workforce has dwindled from 40,000 to 10,000, with 184 institutions now established, boasting a registered capital exceeding 110 billion yuan. By 2023, the region generated over 1.5 billion yuan in taxes, a staggering 25 times more than during the “Dongpi” era.
The transformation from “Dongpi” to the “Golden Technology New Zone” exemplifies high-quality development against the backdrop of reduced urban growth in Beijing. A similar metamorphosis is unfolding approximately 15 kilometers southwest in Fengtai District’s South Axis area.
Once bustling as the renowned “Dahongmen Business District,” this area hosted 45 markets, accommodating around 33,000 merchants and 100,000 workers, with daily foot traffic reaching hundreds of thousands and a staggering throughput of about 2,000 tons daily. By the 1990s, it had become Northern China’s largest wholesale center for textiles and apparel.
However, the heavy flow of people, traffic, and logistics gave rise to significant congestion and disorder. Between 2014 and 2018, all 45 markets were successfully closed.
With this transitional space now available, new development opportunities have emerged. Plans for the South Axis area include various functional clusters, such as an international business district, cultural and technological parks, a museum cluster, and the Nanyuan Forest Wetland Park.
As of August this year, the former Dahongmen Clothing Trading City has been repurposed into the South Axis International Cultural Technology Park, which has already registered over 270 advanced enterprises, focusing primarily on new-generation information technology and the metaverse industry.
An Jing, the deputy director of the South Axis District Management Committee, notes the area’s evolution from a clothing wholesale hub to a vital business district of the capital has yielded tangible results: the Central Ballet Troupe’s expanded facility will officially open next year; construction has commenced on the National Museum of Nature, and the architectural design for the Capital Planning Exhibition Hall is nearing finalization, with preliminary work actively progressing.
Heading south along the axis leads to the expansive Nanyuan Forest Wetland Park, boasting a landscape spanning thousands of acres. The park’s observation deck opened to the public on May 1, allowing visitors to take in the dynamic beauty of a rejuvenated Beijing from a height of 59 meters.
On October 16, the Global Ecological Governance (Nanyuan) Conference kicked off in Fengtai District, gathering hundreds of international guests to discuss collaborative efforts towards building an ecologically sound environment. During the conference, it was announced that the secretariat for the National Innovation Alliance for Capital’s Nature Experience Industry would establish its headquarters within the Nanyuan Forest Wetland Park.
