Yabaolu (, russian: Ябаолу) is a street and area in

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

, China, running from Chaoyangmen Outer Street to Jianguomen Outer Street. The south part of Yabaolu is home to . On the west side of Yabaolu lies Ritan Park. As of 2011 the community has many high rise shopping malls and shops, is a major hub of trade. Previously it was a community of one story courtyards with little activity.In Beijing's Yabaolu, 'good friends' come to trade
" ''

CNN CNN (Cable News Network) is a multinational cable news channel headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable news channel, and presently owned by ...

''. August 12, 2011. Retrieved on August 12, 2012.

Name

Yabaolu, "elegant treasure road," is one of the many Old Beijing place names to have been beautified. The original name was Yaba

Hutong ''Hutong'' () are a type of narrow street or alley commonly associated with northern Chinese cities, especially Beijing. In Beijing, hutongs are alleys formed by lines of ''siheyuan'', traditional courtyard residences. Many neighbourhoods wer ...

, lit. "mute man alley".

Yabaolu markets

The northern area of Yabaolu is sometimes unofficially named Russiatown,, since the clientele of the shops is mostly foreign, with most of that being

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...

n, and because the neighbourhood has a high population of

n traders from Siberia, who are transient. Previously local Chinese people called the traders ''dà dǎoyé'' (大倒爷, "big trader"), while as of 2011 they now refer to them as ''hǎo péngyou'' (好朋友, "good friend"). In addition to Russian traders, Polish, Ukrainian, former Yugoslav, and other eastern European traders also do business in Yabaolu. Jaime FlorCruz of ''

'' said in 2011 that "Here bargaining is tough but business is good. The most successful, traders say, can resell their items for 20 times their investment." The China-Russia-related trade in Beijing occurs in Yabaolu. Most of the businesses in Yabaolu cater to Russian customers. Many restaurant owners and shop keepers do business in Yabaolu. Some pedicab drivers speak pidgin Russian and charge the equivalent of two U.S. dollars for a ride. Like many

ethnic enclave In sociology, an ethnic enclave is a geographic area with high ethnic concentration, characteristic cultural identity, and economic activity. The term is usually used to refer to either a residential area or a workspace with a high concentration ...

s, it has its own unique

culture Culture () is an umbrella term which encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, customs, capabilities, and habits of the individuals in these groups ...

imported by its residents. The focal point of the district are several large clothing markets. Business signs are mostly in

Russian Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including: *Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...

and written in Cyrillic, a surprise to many

tourist Tourism is travel for pleasure or business; also the theory and practice of touring (disambiguation), touring, the business of attracting, accommodating, and entertaining tourists, and the business of operating tour (disambiguation), tours. Th ...

s. For a former Russian area in Beijing, see

Li-Fan Yuan The Lifan Yuan (; ; Mongolian: Гадаад Монголын төрийг засах явдлын яам, ''γadaγadu mongγul un törü-yi jasaqu yabudal-un yamun'') was an agency in the government of the Qing dynasty of China which administered ...

. FlorCruz said that around 1991 "loaded up scores boxes of goods -- mostly cheap clothes -- onto decrepit trailer trucks bound for train stations" while in 2011 traders "employ shipping companies to move various goods that include silk dresses and shirts, fur jackets, toys and handbags." After the Beijing Olympics several large modern shopping centres, such as Chaowai-Men, You-Town, have been developed - some to cater more to retail shoppers than wholesale traders.That's Beijing 2009 Insight Guides

References in popular culture

Appears and is described in the book '' Oracle Bones: A Journey Between China's Past and Present'' by

Peter Hessler Peter Benjamin Hessler (born June 14, 1969) is an American writer and journalist. He is the author of four books about China and has contributed numerous articles to ''The New Yorker'' and ''National Geographic'', among other publications. In 201 ...

. Peter has a friend named Polat occupied as a money changer and clothing dealer. They sit on a platform of a Uyghur restaurant drinking beers and watching locals pass by.

Name

Yabaolu markets

References in popular culture

References

Further reading