Source: Yiwu sourcing agent Author: Date: 2008-11-24
I came to this fertile place called Fotang and wandered in its thriving fair and old street, feeling as if I had entered a colorful world of commerce, browsing over a rise and fall history of this commercial port while enjoying a pleasant tour in this Famous Town of Chinese History and Culture.
Since ancient times, Fotang has been a hub of communications with the booming trade industry .Born in the Qianlong period of the Qing Dynasty, Fotang Town has an old street divided into three parts: upper street, middle street and down street .The down street lies in the upper river , while the upper street
lies in the lower river .In all these three streets , the overall layout of commodities is rationalized according to their categories ,which makes the busy trade in good order.On both sides of the streets lie row upon row of busines sarch itectures with woodcarvings of fine craftsmanship , showing the simple atmosphere of commerce as well as the charm of market town.
Jia Cangbin is a researcher on folk customs of ancient towns, whose family has lived in the town' s Yanbutou for generations.He said , Fotang is a “century-old commercial port ”where people gathered for business ,and with the convenient transportation on Yiwu River , it flourished before liberation. At that time, there were over 400 firms (stores) in the town.Most were rich merchants dealing in banking, pawning , agricultural products and general merchandise , or running
teahouses and wine shops .These businessmen created miracles with their sharp minds, practical operation style and good commercial ethics .
“Today's merchants are quite different from those in the past. Their operation mode and method have changed and more importantly, modern businessmen attach more importance to the honest dealing ,” a shop owner in the town surnamed Zhu said
with deep feeling.At the end of the 1990s , a group of tough and commercially-minded merchants collected funds and talents and set up with others many chain supermarkets, large-scale department stores and specialty stores in the town ,including
Eucalyptus ,Zhenchang ,Hualian and C&U.
In ancient times , there were merchants from Anhui , Jiangxi and Fujian coming to Fotang to develop their business, while to day businessmen from all over the country gather in this Famous Town of Chinese History and Culture to display their talents .We were told that in those years , there were Anhui merchants who mainly dealt in salt , grains , silk , tea , stationery , pawning and timber, Jiang xi merchants and the “ Cixi Gang ” who ran Chinese medicine shops, and Fujian merchants who dealt in dyeing and dry nuts .With their common efforts , the majority of Fotang' s business prosperity was built up. In the last years of the Qing Dynasty ,Fotang Chamber of Commerce came into existence, and trade association was set up at the same time .Fotang Chamber of Commerce was the first chamber of commerce in Yiwu , which played an important role in formulating guild regulations , improving the dealers’management style and promoting the business ethics.This is one of the important reasons why this ancient town could stride towards prosperity .
Today ,we are delighted to see that Fotang is bigger in the economic power and more advantageous in the traffic and circulation. With the further expansion of the town's size ,shops are being set up on the new street sand trader sand manufacturers are rapidly increasing in the industrial district as well.On the newly built Jianshe Road ,Shuanglin Road and Zhaoyang Road ,stores are abundant in goods of various kinds , including garments ,electrical appliance , knitting , and general merchandise . Their business is booming ,presenting a scene of prosperity.
The statistics from the relevant department of the town are really astonishing：There are over one thousand businessmen who want either going into trade or setting up factories on the streets; and besides Yiwu natives , many of them come from every part of the country , such as Wenzhou , Lanxi , Jiangxi and Guizhou .
It can be believed that led by the local government and departments for industry and commerce,the ten thousand businessmen in Fotang will stick to the previous business tradition,respect the business philosophy of "making morals your neighbor",blaze new trails ,and face the competition bravely,in an attempt to create more "FIRSTs" in Yiwu's trade history with their diligence and intelligence .
We are looking forward to a modern "Painting of Breeze at a Commercial Port"
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