Recently, the local media has stated that the economy has been greatly affected by the coronavirus. The closing down of the South Gate Century Ginwa (Shi Ji Jin Hua) is evidence that this is true. However, after being bitten by mosquitos repeatedly to witness it first hand, I saw a different perspective. Though some of the big shops around town are now closed, more new small ones are opening up.
For this report, I’ve checked the district of Glorious Plaza (Da Du Hui), Gao Xin Road, and the southwest part of downtown, inside the city wall as shown below. Here is what I found.
It is very difficult to find out which shops have shut down, even those in my neighborhood. So, I got a little help from Da Zhong Dian Ping. It pins a grey square on the places which have stopped doing business and a red square on places which are newly open.
Out of all the places that I’ve searched, only two restaurants were closed. One of them is Yang Rui Tang (Gao Xin), which was a black pearl (one of the best restaurants on Dian Ping). The other one is a small restaurant that severed local food.
Inside the city wall, there are many new cafes springing up. I mainly visited the southwest part of the city. Two cafes are currently under construction in Yingchun Alley (No.2 on the map). Hui Min Street has a new café called Richer Rich, decorated with plenty of toys (No.1 on the map).
More new tiny shops have also appeared in other places. There are two new mini cafes at the same T-junction on Tian Shui Jing Street (No.3&4 in the map), 1 mini café named Tiny Coffee in Taiyangmiaomen Alley, and 1 mini Japanese bakery nearby Xiangzi Temple (No.6 on the map).
Besides the newly open shops, some old ones have expanded their scope of business. Bueno Cocktail Bar has opened a new branch outside the city wall, next to the old Century Ginwa (No.7 in the map). Sugarman Espresso has started a delivery service inside the city wall nearby Sifu Alley (No.5 on the map).
The small buildings in front of the west gate of Northwestern University and the ones on the south of Northwestern Polytechnical University have been totally demolished due to ongoing city construction, so the shops are closed.
Photograph by Yuxue
Photograph by Yuxue
Photograph by Yuxue
Copyright permission from the photographer CARAT
Copyright permission from the photographer CARAT
Photograph by Yuxue
Copyright permission from the photographer 董枭
Photograph by Yuxue
Have you seen new shops opening up in your area? Have any of your old favorites closed down? Let us know by sending us a message at our official WeChat account or by emailing us at info@xianease.com.