Vendors in China, or, Things we've learned while shopping...

     During the recent October holiday, we spent a lot of time out and about, exploring the city, sightseeing, and shopping.  The Chinese are very innovative.  

You can sell just about anything from a bicycle, or the back of a van.

Including cooked yams.  Notice the contrast between this guy's rickety wagon and the sleek cars parked behind.  This contrast is seen everywhere--one person driving a Mercedes next to a person on a rusty bike.  I have seen more Rolls Royce's, Lamborghini's, Mercedes, Bentley's, Porsche's, and even a few Hummers, in the past two months than I have seen in my lifetime.  And I have seen people living in little huts in alleys with the two worlds are only a block or so apart.  China's communist capitalism is bringing their country out of poverty and into modernity, but it isn't working for everyone.  There are 400 million "wealthy" people here (middle class & higher), and 1 billion poor.  

I can say that I would not want to be one of the 1 billion!

This vendor has calligraphy brushes, for writing (Chinese characters).  

Most shop keepers and vendors work 365 days a year.

And these guys had a food booth.  I loved how the guy in red was enjoying whatever sauce he was cooking with.  We didn't buy anything from them.

But we did buy some cotton candy--made on the back of a bicycle!  

It was good, if you can call pure sugar "good".

But here was the biggest surprise of all.  

Each display area (8-foot-square) was watched over by a different clerk (or maybe one clerk for a few areas).  When we first came to this shopping area, we were amazed with how big it was, with so many shoes on display.  As we walked through, we began to realize we were seeing mostly the same things, over and over again.  If we picked up a shoe or boot to look at it, instantly a young woman would appear at our side to tell us the price and try to entice us with a more expensive product.

In a store like this, I'm not sure if they own their own area or just get a commission on what they sell.

It is that same way in all the department stores we've been in, including Walmart and Home Depot.  

As soon as we show interest in any product, someone appears.   Often they say that this one is not good

and we should look at that one (which happens to be much more money).

At first we thought they were looking out for our best interests.

We're not so naive now.