Disappearing Street Vendors

Yesterday, the cart that normally sells mi zhou (breakfast rice porridge) to commuters waiting for the morning bus didn't show up. At first I thought it must have been a fluke, like a holiday I didn't know about or custom I didn't understand or something. But then today it didn't show up either. And that's when I realized it wasn't the only one missing. All along my walk to work the street vendors were missing -- the jian bing guy outside my apartment, the couple near my office that sells eggs and some kind of ham thing I would never buy, the woman who usually doesn't have dou jiang but accosts me whenever she does because I bothered her about it every day for a week when I first got here -- all gone for two days in a row and I felt like I was the only person who noticed. I debated asking someone about it for awhile before deciding I probably wouldn't understand the answer in Chinese, but it didn't make much sense in English either.

Apparently none of the carts are legal, so the government can decide to get rid of them at any time. They usually don't do this since people love breakfast and cart owners love money, but when gearing up for an important diplomatic visit or similar event, any potential eyesore could find itself on the chopping block. The city sees street vendors as relics of an undeveloped economy, and ultimately seeks to push all consumption into modern department stores and supermarkets, which explains why the once open-air Silk Market was leveled and consolidated into a single, multi-floor, air-conditioned quasi-mall in 2005.

The disconnect is that no one wins here. In taking informal vendors off the streets, Beijing loses a host of morning food options, a profitable job market for entrepreneurs who can't afford permanent storefronts, and -- above all else -- a little piece of its character. Having been shocked by a number of things one finds on the city sidewalk, it strikes me as odd that food carts would be the focus of any municipal clean-up effort. Where are the campaigns against public spitting? Or littering? Or letting your dog (and sometimes even young child) defecate on the pavement between passing pedestrians? I just don't understand.

All is not lost, however. My Chinese colleague assures me the vendors will be back tomorrow. At this point I'm not sure if that makes me happy or just more frustrated.

再见
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