[Cross-Strait] Taiwan Night Market Debuts in Beijing, Vendors Say There's Still Opportunity Amidst Consumption Downgrade
bellala 央廣7h agoEdited
A night market fair, advertised as having a "Taiwanese flavor," opened in Beijing's Tongzhou District starting on the 16th, with over 50 vendors participating. Some vendors stated that compared to before the pandemic, income is noticeably not as good, but some Taiwanese are setting up snack stalls in Beijing for the first time to "test the waters."
The opening ceremony of the 2026 Beijing-Taiwan Beautiful Countryside Forum series of activities and the "Beautiful Countryside • Cha Cha GO" June market officially opened today. The market is located outside a large shopping mall in Tongzhou, Beijing, and will last for six days. Each stall is advertised as selling Taiwanese snacks such as oyster omelets, Shenkeng stinky tofu, pig's blood cake, grilled squid, taro milk, and winter melon tea.
Although these stall owners are all Taiwanese, there are differences between those who came "earlier" and those who came "later." Mr. Zhang came to the mainland to work in engineering in 2004. Later, he found it difficult, so around 2009, he switched careers to sell Taiwanese snacks and has participated in Taiwanese snack festivals in various cities in China.
He said that business was best between 2010 and 2015, when mainland Chinese had a stronger sense of novelty towards Taiwan. The current "consumption downgrade" among Chinese people is also reflected in the night market; now, some customers will share one meal among 3 or 4 people. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, on good days, a snack stall could earn RMB 20,000 to 30,000 yuan in revenue per day during events. Now, on regular weekdays, it might be 5,000 yuan per day, and this is before deducting costs and rent, with variations among stalls.
Several young people from Taiwan are also participating for the first time by setting up stalls in Beijing. They want to see the feasibility of doing business on the mainland. In China, a pig's blood cake or a cup of bubble tea at a night market is priced around RMB 18 yuan (about NT$83), which is relatively high. Therefore, some people believe their income will be better than in Taiwan.
The market is one of the peripheral activities of the 2026 Beijing-Taiwan Beautiful Countryside Forum. The forum focuses on agricultural exchanges between the two sides of the strait. At the opening ceremony, Li Xuqing, founder of "Yi Xin Hui Xiang Group" from Taiwan, who focuses on organic agriculture, gave a speech. Indigenous performers from Kaohsiung danced and livened up the atmosphere, inviting Zhou Ning, vice president of the Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits (ARATS), and other Beijing officials present to dance on stage.
Mr. Zhu, who participated in the forum in Beijing this time, said that Taiwan's organic agriculture is mainly small-scale farmers, and the supply is not even enough for the Taiwanese people, so there is no intention to develop across the strait, but exchanges with mainland businesses are possible. Organic agriculture is a niche market in all countries, and the proportion of consumers of organic agricultural products in mainland China is even lower. However, due to the huge population base, the overall market is still considerable. (Editor: Liu Xianghua)
Source Link: https://www.rti.org.tw/news?uid=3&pid=214940
How does this article make you feel?
0 people reacted