A stall owner (1st R) sells goods at a street market featuring traditional custom in Haikou, south China's Hainan Province, Feb. 19, 2023. (Xinhua/Guo Cheng)
HAIKOU, Feb. 23 -- As night falls, the Xixili commercial street in Haikou, the capital of south China's island province of Hainan, bursts into life.
A motley of hand-made ornaments and snacks adorn the many camp-style stalls at the night fair, drawing in an influx of residents and tourists.
Wang Hongyu busied himself with making hamburgers at a snack stall. Running an internet technology company during the day, Wang sells burgers at night as a hobby and as a second business.
"Stall owners here either see it as a full-time job or an avocation to improve income," Wang said, adding that he could make revenue up to 10,000 yuan (about 1,449 U.S. dollars) on a busy night.
Since the beginning of this year, new forms of night markets have sprung up in the city, boosting consumption and injecting momentum into the economic recovery from the COVID-19 doldrums.
Some of the markets have regular opening times while others are pop-up. Integrating the latest pop fashions or imitating ancient Chinese bazaars, they have become particularly popular among young consumers.
"It is more diverse and inclusive, different from the traditional night markets," said Wang Yaqi, a sophomore from Hainan University who visited a pop-up fair of toys, hand-made items, and snacks last weekend.
"You can see the pet culture, the hand-making culture, and other subcultures popular among the young people," she said.
Xu Dongjie, the owner of a pet stall at the market, said the foot traffic was much higher than at her brick-and-mortar pet shop. "They get to know us through this market and could become our potential customers," she said.
To her, participating in the market was also a way to network and make new friends. "Pets have their own friends, and we also need a new social life."
At another pop-up market held last weekend, over 30 stalls reproduced the street sight of the Song Dynasty (960-1279) by putting up archaic decorations or having staff don garments of that period.
"It is interesting to experience the traditional cultures in the ancient-style market," said Lou Hanbin, a tourist from Henan Province who rented a traditional Chinese costume to attend the market.
