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The food stands suddenly disappeared after the summer holiday of 2016.

I was a sophomore in ECNU (Minhang Campus) back then. When I entered the college in 2015, the food stands around our school were flourishing. You can find different types of food like Rou Jia Mo, dumplings, grilled tofu, deep-fried, Kao Leng Mian, fried rice noodles, etc. I can literally list all kinds of food stands that appeared around my school since I am a huge fan of food stalls. Some of the stall owner became my friends later because of my regular appearance.

 

However, something prophetic happened before that summer, which gradually raised our students’ awareness that these food stalls may no longer be permitted in this area. Before, authorities, known as city management officer (Chengguan), in most cases, would turn a blind eye to these vendors since the atmosphere in the neighborhood of universities is relatively special. College students has a great demand on these stalls because the stuffs sold there are cheap and students do not have to go far away to buy those essentials, which considerably add to the comfort and convenience of the general public. Most importantly, it encouraged the vitality and diversity in university neighborhood when Minhang campus back then was surrounded by farmland and construction site. The urbanization there hasn’t took place until 2016, the first shopping mall in our neighborhood came into use. Since then, houses, subways, overpasses mushroomed. It seems that that area was finally taken into municipal consideration and urbanization planning.

One day, I was buying some deliciousness between those food stalls, city management officers (Chengguan) suddenly showed up. Instead of sitting in their cars labeled “Shanghai Chengguan”, chatting and smoking, they walked out and were trying to confiscate the portable tables around the stalls. The crowd fell into completely disorder and chaotic. Those who hadn’t been reached rapidly got packed and rode way, with tofu on the pan sizzling. And here came most ridiculous scenario: groups of students followed behind, trying to catch up with the electric tricycle across the six-lane road, in that they had paid for the food but didn’t get it. I was absolutely one of them and finally found the vendor in the wood of a park nearby.

 

This typical cat-and-mouse game with municipal workers chasing street vendors was also shot in many domestic film and television product. View here. And I haven’t seen most of those vendors since that summer, while some of them who were still trying to make a living here, rent a storefront to continue. With loans, definitely.

 

After years of suppression of these vendors and stalls in cities, on June 1^st of 2020, Premier Li Keqiang said that the stall economy is “the fireworks of the world, the vitality of China” during an inspection in Yantai, Shandong, and expressed his positive attitude towards the stall economy. Subsequently, the central government canceled the assessment of urban land stalls, and local governments gradually liberalized them to allow stall economy. The core reason for the liberalization of the stall economy is probably to stabilize the employment situation under the impact of the corona pandemic. At the press conference of the first quarter of 2020 by the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, Zhang Ying, Director of the Employment Promotion Department, said: “From January to March this year, 2.29 million new jobs were created in cities and towns across the country, and the unemployment rate in the national urban survey in March was 5.9%. The employment situation is more severe than in previous years.”

 

We know that setting up a street stall, benefiting from its low cost, convenient and quick advantages, is the best way for the unemployed and laid-off workers at the bottom to make a living. However, the stall economy was once banned in the city due to problems affecting the appearance of the city. Therefore, this time, the governors not only want the stalls to give the city a “ life breathing atmosphere”, but also to keep the appearance of the city relatively clean, which in the end calls out a gathering and collective stalls —— “night market”.

 

I highly doubt the function and prosperity of these “night markets”. On one hand, food stalls grow up with the streets and neighborhoods, which stands for the breath of life in the vicinity. And gathering them together chokes it. On the other hand, this solution seems not that effective in the long term, more like a stopgap remedy. The stall itself has the attribute of “emerging and perishing of itself”. It does not pay taxes, has no fixed income, work location, and legal protection. It is understandable for individuals to set up stalls for their livelihood, but stalls are definitely not an ideal “economic form” because of its liquidity, temporary nature. Street stalls will make life easier for some people, but they will not make “economic prosperity”. “Developing the stall economy” itself implies a paradox. The stalls must be individual and scattered, and cannot be planned and “developed”. The organized stall, like a “night market”, is no longer a stall, but something that can be organized and built, which on the other hand can also be banned in an organized manner. This kind of carnival of “all people setting up a street stall” and the “romantic” atmosphere deliberately conveyed by the media have concealed economic and social problems. Persuade the unemployed to go to the street, and thus “unemployment problem” is solved?

Krishnendu Ray depicted some of the markets in Delhi selling street food that are deeply related to the liveliness of the city and the livelihood of the poor. Actually I have been to a very one when I was on a trip in Delhi, as a member of the Tsinghua India Immersion Program during my senior year (Here is a Vlog edited by me.)

In the market, you can try specialties like Jalebi, buy souvenirs like block-printed scarves, hear disco or hiphop music playing and watch people dancing. It’s neither too high-end or low-class. There was a joyful atmosphere, or in Ray’s notion, an atmosphere originated from the “rich, milling, sensuous public life”, for everyone to engage in. The buddies at Jindal Global University told us that they would go downtown for the market almost every weekend to buy food from different regions (especially those from their hometown) and get some entertainment with their friends. I was very impressed then as I hadn’t experienced such a fascinating weekly event in China with local cultural odor of urban life.

pc to Sophie Zhang

 

Now city planners and administrators in China have realized the importance of street vending in activating local economic vitality and leading the trend. Shanghai Night Festival was initiated at June 6, including Waitanyuan Night Carnival (for a few days) and BFC Fengjing Weekend Market (on Saturday and Sunday each week until Jan. 3, 2021). Both street markets are located in the busiest district of Shanghai, with gorgeous skyline of the bund and artistic architecture of Fosun Foundation. 

 

“Street food has the potential to change the flavor of the politics and poetics of good taste.” It is evident that the planners would like to position the weekend market as a stylish and high-end attraction targeting at the younger generation to cater to their specific consumption needs, such as experiencing, socializing, and showing their personalities and aesthetics.

BFC Fengjing Market are 300 meters in length, including more than 110 brands, stalls, and pop-up shops. The vendors are serving leisure food like kebab, sushi, snacks, bubble tea, and beer. Foreign food and beverage are especially popular, DIY cocktail, for example. There are also various trendy youth cultural elements embodied in the live shows and interactive activities. Here street vending is no more associated with impressions like “littery, chaotic”; instead, it has become a creative and entertaining junction.

Street foods do make beautiful pictures. If you search for “Waitan Fengjing” on the social platform Red (to share sophisticated pictures and lifestyles),  nearly 600 results will be shown. Images and information of such an event can travel well on SNS, proving that it is a successful business model with a gene of fashion.

 

The planners have enacted thorough and detailed logistic support process including dealing with trash. There are five locations for waste collection at the market with different allocation of classified dustbins according to different types of the stalls nearby. They have also set a dishwashing place to make sure the site is neat and ordered.

In a word, street vending in this era has been presenting a brand-new face. It is about the updated lifestyle of urban residents. But I’m not sure whether such a high-end version of street vending have much to do with the livelihood of the poor. 

What is Street Stall Economy?

Street stall economy refers to an economic form formed by obtaining income sources by setting up street stalls. As a marginal economy of a city that run mostly by the migrant workers, it has always been a key factor affecting the city’s appearance and environment. However, the street stall economy has its unique advantages, which can relieve the employment pressure to a certain extent under the background of the financial crisis.

After Chinese Central Civilization Office declares that road markets and itinerant vendors will not be included in the evaluation and assessment of civilized cities in 2020 in order to recover the economy after the pandemic, lots of people who lost job during pandemic got the chance to go on the street as a street vendor. It has boosted the real economy, because the space opened for the street vendors are usually located near the large shopping malls. This makes lots of people to go out and enjoy their time in real stores.

Like India, China is now at a moment reckoning between the digital delivery age and the street vendor age. The digital delivery is popular because people are not willing or do not have time to go out. And food delivery was extremely needed during the pandemic because lots of people were not able to go out.

I have seen a video that shoot by a delivery guy that he found that the orders online will decline especially at night after the establishment of the street stall economy, because lots of people are going out for dinner instead of staying at home. People would prefer to go out especially after months of lockdown.

What is more, according to Street Vendors in the Global Urban Economy,  running a street vendor has low skill requirements. It is easier for a person with low skills and little capital to take to street vending. While the food delivery has more pressure because of the harsh time limitation and the rate system, the street food vendor might be more appealing to the migrant workers when choosing a way of making a living a big city. After the establishment of the Street Stall Economy, more people would prefer being  street vendors instead of doing food delivery since it will provide them the freedom to choose the categories that they sell. They deem it a new chance to make fortune, while the food delivery is a dead-end job, because people would be trapped in that kind of algorithm system.

However, the civic authorities in the most metropolitan cities all over the world treats the street vendors as “intruders” and the urban elites view them as eyesores that blotch the urban scenario. It is hard for those street vendors to stay in specific locations for a long time because of the Urban environmental management. What is more, when this novelty wears off, people will return to their old way of life again.

In conclusion, I think though there might be influence on the food delivery industry,  street stall economy will not conflict the food delivery industry in a large scale. This is because the limited location and the strict regulations will prevent lots of migrant workers from becoming street vendors.

When I was young, my parents always say “Don’t buy street food. They are not clean. If you eat them, you will have a stomachache.” However, my parents will always buy fruits and vegetables from street vendors because they are cheaper and fresh. Most of farmers who sale those fresh fruits come from nearby mountains, so people who live in the city always believe street vendors have the most authentic fruits. After I traveled to different cities, I found out that almost every big city has street vendors. Some of them exist in similar locations, such as bus stations, food market, but some street vendors are unique for one city.

For example, in New York, street vendors always appear in street corners or near subway stations. In the morning, vendors sale breakfast items such as bagel, croissant. At the lunchtime, you can find different types of street food such as Chinese food, Halal food, Thai food and chicken over rice. People who buy street food are not just lower-class workers who want to find cheaper meals, but also white collar who earns a lot in Manhattan’s big buildings. However, less people buy street fruits and vegetables, because many people believe that fruits and vegetables in supermarkets or local markets are more trustworthy. Street vendors in Manhattan are always in the same place, and it’s unlikely to find illegal street food vendors, because they need certain license to sale food on the street.

However, in Chongqing, most of street food are near schools, railway stations and local markets. It’s really hard to find street food near workplaces or office buildings, because office buildings always have strict regulations, so it’s difficult for them to enter the office area. Street food are less popular among upper class, but all classes love to buy street fruits and vegetables because customers believe street fruits are more organic than those in supermarkets.  Unlike street vendors in New York who have fixed locations, many street vendors in Chongqing are always moving because they are not allowed to occupy public streets, so they are always worried about the police.

When I was young, I always hear news about the urban police and street vendors.  Street vendors call urban police as“Chengguan”（城管） ,  a local government agency that responsible for the city’s planning and management. They are famous for cracking down on unlicensed street vendors. Both Chengguan and street vendors suffered injustice in the past few years, because some Chengguan use their power to abuse street vendors, but some street vendors use social media to threaten Chengguan.  It’s difficult to find balance between Chengguan and street vendors, because Chengguan wants to make the city look better but street vendors who can’t pay for the high rent need to make a living. When I was young, there are lots of street vendors outside the school, but if someone says “Chengguan is coming”, those street vendors will disappear in a few second.

The contradiction between street vending and urban modernization seems to be a long-term problem that every country cannot circumvent in the development process. Generally speaking, the hawkers are always denounced as hurting legitimate business, accused of encroaching on public land and dirtying the streets by the people. Bluestone traced the constant changes of policies regulating the pushcart markets in New York City, which are closely related to the social development and economic condition of America. According to Bluestone, various reform efforts to curb the pushcart markets was particularly acute during the Great Depression of 1930s, when pushcarts represented just “another uncomfortable reminder of the instability and failure of national economic life.” (pp. 75) And in Mumbai, mentioned by Rajagopal, “hawkers become a mirror for all kinds of doubts and ills attending the transition from state-led development to market liberalization” (pp. 227). Indeed, rise and fall of the stalls in different historical periods are just symptoms of the market force. The actions of hawkers are driven by corresponding policies of the government in specific economic environments. The reason why the Chinese government encouraged the public to develop the stall economy at the beginning of this year was to change the sluggish economic development under the influence of Covid-19, to promote employment and stimulate consumption – so the various problems caused by stalls in city management can be temporarily put aside. The development of the stall economy is a double-edged sword in today’s society, while acknowledging its effectiveness, we should also recognize the need to refine urban management for the government. (Read an article discussed this two-sided influence of stall economy in China)

A BBQ stall – A representative of street stalls in China

Here’s also a special characteristic of the hawkers in China. As Ray said, some people who have lost their jobs will choose to run a street stall as a transitional career until they find a formal one in the job market. Such “transitional” feature is especially common and prominent in street vending of China, but in a different sense. Influenced by the long-term cultural tradition of “An Tu Zhong Qian” (which means be attached to the living place and unwilling to leave it), Chinese people always long for buying their own houses and take root in the place of life, even paying a great price. Therefore, almost all the vendors have a final goal to purchase their own storefronts, carrying out regular and stable sales of goods. Depending on the business situation, this struggle process may take the stall owners from one year to several decades, or it may never be realized. During my undergraduate studies, as a regular customer, I became friends with a stall owner who sells Tanghulu near my university, then I learned that his family lives by street vending and his mother had been selling sugar-fried chestnuts in front of a nearby market for more than ten years. His business has been very good in the past two years, so his family quickly decided to buy a storefront near the entrance of the university. Obviously, the end of the mobile stall life is an important turning point for him and his family. He gained a sense of security and confidence, got married last year, and now begins to sell a variety kinds of food to expand their business.

This week, we read about several discussions around street food, pushcarts and vendors. Bluestone articulates the different developmental stages of pushcarts in New York City, whereas Ray focuses more on how vending reflects the level of social justice and society’s plurality. It is always accepted that street food provides liveness to urban space, but few people look deep into how such liveness is created. In this post, I would like to share some of my thoughts about why street vending and pushcarts could vitalize the city.

One factor that could account for such a phenomenon is that consumers could witness how their dishes are made when buying food on the street. I had my undergraduate study at the Communication University of China, and there is a street full of street peddlers near the west door of the university. One thing I enjoyed most during my undergraduate study was watching those vendors cooking their food. Unlike in the restaurant, where the whole cooking process is hidden in the kitchen, vendors have no choice but show how they cook the food. Some vendors may even make cooking as a performance to show how professional they are and attract passersby. The cooking process’s transparency is essential for street food because the vendors have to promote their food by using appetitive sources and a strong smell. The word “Liveness” in China is called “烟火气”， with a direct translation of “the smoke produced by cooking.” This word shows that traditional Chinese regard the cooking smoke as a symbol of cozy daily lives. Cooking smoke is never a pleasant thing to most people, but it indicates such a beautiful and vivid view of life in a traditional Chinese cultural context. Perhaps food is meant to be created in a messy and informal environment in the Chinese cultural gene.

（The street full of pushcarts near my university）

Another reason whystreet food could contribute to urban space’s livingness recalls the memory from our childhood. When I was a high school student, I had only little pocket money every month and couldn’t afford to dine out in a restaurant. But street food is much cheaper than the dishes served in the restaurant and always target student as their most important consumers. There were always pushcarts with all kinds of street food near the school gate, and I just couldn’t help to buy some of them on my way home. Thus, street food for me carries a nostalgic meaning. Even now, when I pass some pushcarts, the first idea floats into my mind would be, “I’ve seen that (or I’ve had that) in my high school period.”

It is exactly because I am witnessing how vendors put their labors in cooking and those memories around food from my childhood that make me feel empathetic for the vendors. For the last few years, the Beijing government issued policies against pushcarts food and informal food stores in the city. I understand such actions are meant to clean up the city, but I didn’t enjoy its result. Beijing indeed became neater, but it lost so much vigor in this process. I agree with Ray’s point that a city should be a public space that allows people from all social classes to earn a living. Sometimes an organized city is built upon the exclusion of certain groups of people and the elimination of the collective memories of previous generations.