Entrepreneurial Attitudes Alive and Well in China

The entrepreneurial spirit is very much alive in China! On Saturday, I went to a popular shopping area in Beijing called Xidan (pronounced “She-don”). It consisted of sidewalks lined with vendors selling anything from corn-on-the-cob to cell phones. This area of Beijing reminded me a lot of state fairs back home. Chinese street merchants often use a “carnival vendor” approach when selling or advertising their products—they simply yell and scream the name of their product at the top of their lungs.  Although this method would not fly in most shopping malls or even at street fairs in the U.S., in China, this is what people are accustomed to and it usually works.  The vendors are relentless. They sweet-talk and even grab customers until some deal has been struck and the customer agrees to purchase their product.

Being a foreigner, I am especially targeted by these vendors. With my brown hair and blue eyes I might as well be wearing a flashing light on my head. The vendors will do just about anything to try and get my attention.  The most recent ploy was a vendor jumping through the crowd, while mustering up any English he knew (which seems to be more and more each day) to try and attract my attention.  The process can be fun, but sometimes I just feel like window-shopping. In China, that’s impossible.

Street vendors are a prime example of the current entrepreneurial spirit in China.  There are countless places in Beijing where you will find a similar scene to Xidan.  Whether it is people trying to use their personal cars as taxis or just trying to sell some knick-knacks from their hometown, the attitude of these individuals really embodies the zeal of the modern Chinese entrepreneur.