Zhejiang ( "Zhejiang Village") was a community of migrant workers around the
Nanyuan-
Dahongmen area, within
Fengtai District
Fengtai District () is a district of the municipality of Beijing. It lies mostly to the southwest of the city center, extending into the city's southwestern suburbs beyond the 6th Ring Road, Sixth Ring Road, but also to the south and, to a smaller ...
,
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 ...
. These workers originated from
Zhejiang
Zhejiang ( or , ; , also romanized as Chekiang) is an eastern, coastal province of the People's Republic of China. Its capital and largest city is Hangzhou, and other notable cities include Ningbo and Wenzhou. Zhejiang is bordered by Jiang ...
, with most of them from
Wenzhou
Wenzhou (pronounced ; Wenzhounese: Yuziou ”y33–11 tÉ•iɤu33–32 ), historically known as Wenchow is a prefecture-level city in southeastern Zhejiang province in the People's Republic of China. Wenzhou is located at the extreme south east o ...
.
[Liu, Xiaoli and Liang Wei, p. 98.][Michael Dutton, Hsiu-ju Stacy Lo, ''Beijing Time'', (2008) ]Harvard University Press
Harvard University Press (HUP) is a publishing house established on January 13, 1913, as a division of Harvard University, and focused on academic publishing. It is a member of the Association of American University Presses. After the retirem ...
.
History
Liu Xiaoli and Liang Wei, authors of "Zhejiangcun: social and spatial implications of informal urbanization on the periphery of Beijing," wrote that the Lu Brothers, who originated from
Qingjiang district,
Yueqing county,
Zhejiang
Zhejiang ( or , ; , also romanized as Chekiang) is an eastern, coastal province of the People's Republic of China. Its capital and largest city is Hangzhou, and other notable cities include Ningbo and Wenzhou. Zhejiang is bordered by Jiang ...
, were "said" to be the founders of Zhejiangcun. In 1982 they had stopped in Beijing on a journey from
Inner Mongolia
Inner Mongolia, officially the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China. Its border includes most of the length of China's border with the country of Mongolia. Inner Mongolia also accounts for a ...
back to their hometowns. They set up a stand to sell overstocked goods in proximity to the
Qianmen underground passageway and found a high volume of sales. Instead of returning to Wenzhou they rented a room in a peasant's house and opened a business there. A governmental open door policy to commerce and industry was established in Beijing in 1983, increasing the influx of businesspeople. A lot of immigrants came from Wenzhou because that city had a strong tradition of business.
[Liu, Xiaoli and Liang Wei, p. 99.]
In November 1995 the authorities demolished large segments of the ''Zhejiangcun'' settlement.
[
]
Cityscape
The historical community, around the Nanyuan- Dahongmen area, covered 24 administrative villages. The central portion of the area included the municipal villages of Dahongmen, Dongluoyuan, Ganyuan, Shicun, and Shiliuzhuang. Its borders were Muxiyuan to the north, Majiapo to the south, Chengshou Temple to the east, and Dahongmen to the south. The primary commercial street of Zhejiangcun was Dahongmen Street, which is wide. The centermost part of Zhejiangcun consisted of the municipal sub-villages of Shicun: Dengcun, Houcun, and Macun
Macun (in Turkish language, Turkish also Macun ÅŸekeri) is a soft, sweet and colorful Turkish cuisine, Turkish toffee paste. It is a street food that may be prepared with many herbs and spices. Macun originated from spicy preparations of Mesir mac ...
.[
Pre-November 1995 Dahongmen Street included small retail shops selling clothing and wholesale markets. A open air market was located on a street in Macun. This market was demolished in November 1995.][
]
Demographics
The pre-November 1995 estimates stated that 100,000 migrant workers lived in the community. 80% originated from Wenzhou
Wenzhou (pronounced ; Wenzhounese: Yuziou ”y33–11 tÉ•iɤu33–32 ), historically known as Wenchow is a prefecture-level city in southeastern Zhejiang province in the People's Republic of China. Wenzhou is located at the extreme south east o ...
, Zhejiang
Zhejiang ( or , ; , also romanized as Chekiang) is an eastern, coastal province of the People's Republic of China. Its capital and largest city is Hangzhou, and other notable cities include Ningbo and Wenzhou. Zhejiang is bordered by Jiang ...
.[
]
See also
* Xinjiangcun
Text for multiple references
* Liu, Xiaoli and Liang Wei, 1997.
Zhejiangcun: social and spatial implications of informal urbanization on the periphery of Beijing
" '' Cities'' 14 (2), 95–108.
References
Fengtai District
Wenzhou
Neighbourhoods of Beijing
{{PRChina-geo-stub