“Everyone’s selling off stock at discount prices at the moment, so it’s competitive,” hesaid. “I won’t go bankrupt but (the project) is going to deal us a huge blow.”
The businessman, who hails from Hunan province, will get compensation fromthe authorities if he holds out until the demolition. However, the majority of stores andrestaurants have declared their landlord as the registered owner, which means they willreceive nothing.
Many traders are already planning their escape route.
“I’m thinking about moving to Miyun county or Pinggu district or Changpingdistrict,” said Zhang Jun, who has owned a convenience store in Tangjialing for more thana decade. “The rent is acceptable and I know people there who can help me set up.”
Another businessman studying a map in his closed dress store said he is looking at theoption of moving to a new shopping mall in Xisanqi.
“We received promotional leaflets in the mail about the mall and its attractive rent.
The mall is not a very popular one but at least it is somewhere we can continue ourbusiness,” he said.
But not every trader feels it is so easy to just pick up and start again somewhere else.
“With the profits I make, I cannot afford to rent a unit in a high street or mall,” saidWang Minglei, who runs a budget cosmetics store. “Only villagers would buy my low-costproducts. The reconstruction means I will have to risk running a business in a market I’mnot familiar with.”
Security issues
As the uncertainty over the future of Tangjialing remains, villagers are being asked fortheir opinions on how to move forward with the demolition and relocation plans.
In the meantime, security guards brought in to fill the gaps in police resources cancontinue to be seen patrolling the village.
“The police force here is completely understaffed to deal with the number of migrantsthat moved to the area,” a security guard told China Daily.
Beijing Jiaqiang Security Service Ltd, a private company, has been cooperating withthe Xibeiwang town public security bureau for many years, said its general manager MaYunlong.
The firm currently has 20 guards working in the area and the local authorities areasking for more, said Ma, although he declined to elaborate why security is being beefedup in an area where the population is falling.
June 2, 2010
FIRST PERSON | WANG LICHAO
It’s tough but I won’t go back home
EDITOR’S NOTE: Wang Lichao, 21, hails from Hubei province but now lives in Zhaozhuangvillage in Beijing’s northwestern suburbs. He is studying business administration at college.
I got a part-time job selling insurance in my junior year, and as my universitywas too far away from my workplace I had to find somewhere closer to live.
I ended up in Zhaozhuang and I have lived here for more than a year now.
The rent is comparatively cheap. It’s about 300 yuan (44) a month and I geta room of my own. When I took it, I felt important and successful because none ofmy classmates have got their own room. There are probably about 10,000 peopleliving in the village. I get on well with all my neighbors.
I don’t really think about whether I’m one of the “ant tribe”. Talents from acrossthe country are flooding into Beijing. Everyone is in the same boat: We all want a placeof our own.
The couple living next door to me earns more than 9,000 yuan a month butthey still stay to save for a down payment on their own house. If they can do that,why can’t I?
My parents hope I stay here, so they can proudly tell their relatives andneighbors their son works in Beijing.
The standard of the food sold here - quality of the ingredients, hygiene, etc- is not so good. Also, I often have to wait a long time for my turn to use thebathroom in the morning (there are a lot of migrant workers living here so you canprobably guess the standards).
But I believe in the old Chinese saying: “One who can endure the toughesthardships can become the most successful person.”
I also believe one of my bosses who says once someone has sold insurance,nothing will ever seem like a challenge again.
Yes, the metropolis is a tough place because you’re competing with top talents.
I just have to give myself some more time. I don’t want to go home empty handed. Iwould lose face.
If I can’t find a decent job within six months after graduation, I will try myluck in Shenzhen (an industrial city in Guangdong province). I know it’s equallycompetitive there but I’m too young to go back home.
Wang Lichao was talking to Wang Huazhong.
June 2, 2010