No visitor coming to Tianjin to
see the sights will miss Quanyechang (Business
Encouraging Bazaar).
Situated at the intersection of Binjiang and Peace
streets, Quanyechang is an old commercial establishment
built in 1928 by a man named Gao Xingqiao. lt
has seven stores and 24,000 square metres of floor
space. As it is located in the former French concession,
it was named the French Bazaar at first and renamed
Business Encouraging Bazaar later. |
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In those days, four vertical scrolls hanging there stating
the purpose of operating the bazaar, which read:¡± An
advice to my compatriots: Success in business comes
from diligence, when business develops, benefits double."
Before the 1950s, there were more than 240 shops
in the bazaar, dealing in silk and satin, clothing,
hats, shoes, pearls, gems, gold and silver jewellery,
paintings, calligraphic works, and books. It had an
amusement section attached to it and was a business
establishment well known both in China and abroad.
A large-scale renovation was carried out in 1994,
which expanded the shopping centre's business area
to 36,000 square metres in floor space. The 10-storey
building is now equipped with 18 elevators in addition
to a music fountain. Quanyechang takes the working
people as its main customers and focuses business
on middle-class commodities. The shopping centre receives
200,000 people each day (300,000 on a holiday) and
its sales volume has reached 130 million yuan per
month.
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