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Street comes alive at night
By Xu Wenwen |
September 24, 2012, Monday
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XINYIFANG Street in north Gongshu District is actually two streets on either side of an artificial stream and at night it's bustling with visitors who cram its bars, restaurants and seafood stalls.
When it was rebuilt a decade ago, the street was expected to be general commercial street that would boost the economy. It lies on either side of a small canal created with water from the nearby Grand Canal. Three bridges connect the tree-lined pathways and lanterns along the way are reflected in the water at night.
But for years many kinds of stores came and went, and only the restaurants and bars survived in what has become a lively entertainment area. Shanghai Daily pays a visit.
Little Wine House
Wine shops and wine bars have been opening in the past couple of years on Xinyifang Street and now there are around a dozen.
Little Wine House is one of the few that?ˉs open late, since the owners like to treat their friends from time to time. It?ˉs more like a comfortable room where people can relax, sip wine and read a book.
Xu Liming is the main shareholder and also runs a wine magazine Bacchus.
?°With the increase in the number of wine stores in the country, Chinese people have more knowledge about wine and I hope I can change people who only know ganbei (bottoms up) into wine drinkers," he says.
Patrons can buy a bottle or drink wine by the glass. Staff is trained to help customers make a selection.
All the wines are imported from France, Italy, Spain, Australia, Chile and elsewhere. The price is inexpensive; the most inexpensive wine is 50 yuan (US$7.90) a bottle.
Address: 209 Xinyifang St
Hours: 10am-9pm
Xinyifang Seafood Stall
This is a large covered night market containing more than 20 food stalls. It can accommodate around 1,000 shoppers.
The seafood range is enormous, including all kinds of fish, crabs, prawns, shrimp, hairtail fish, oysters, claims, snails and other molluscs. They are mostly purchased from coastal Zhejiang areas, such as Zhoushan and Wenzhou. Everything is displayed on ice or in tanks and shoppers pick out their seafood and order it prepared any way they like. It's typically steamed, stir-fried or scalded, preserving the natural flavor.
Customers know what's in season and what's best to eat. For example, summer is the season to eat mussels that are juicy and fat; autumn is the season for swimming crabs (suozi xie ?ó×óD·) that are accumulating roe and fat for the winter. Swimming crabs taste best in late autumn. Winter is the season when hairtail fish, a long thin kind of mackerel, gets fat and tender.
Address: West end of Xinyifang St, intersection of Xinyifang and Moganshan streets.
Hours: 6pm-1am
Barter Store
This is the first known barter store where people exchange second-hand goods in the city.
It displays a wide range of goods, everything from jade and jewelry to cosmetics and CDs. There?ˉs a lot of fashion and bags.
People are encouraged to leave their second-had goods at the store until they are sold on commission. Sellers are also encouraged to take payment in other goods, rather than cash.
Neighbors often stop by for a look after they have dinners.
The ages of sellers vary, but there are many women between 30 and 40 years old, says store manager Zhang Jian.
Fashion, handbags, jade items and daily use items are among the most commonly traded. Factories sometimes place unsold products in the store at low prices.
There?ˉs an online store (http://www.eeba.cn) that has around 10,000 members.
Address: 1/F, No. 8 Mansion of Xinyifang St (west end of the street)
Hours: 10am-9pm
Qian Jing Tea Store
This is the only tea shop on the street. It survives not because it earns much money but because it?ˉs a meeting place for the store owners and their friends.
It only opens after noon and sometimes closes early, sometimes quite late, depending on the owners?ˉ mood.
It offers all kinds of Chinese teas as well as tea ware. The staple is pu?ˉer tea, a fermented tea produced in southwest China?ˉs Yunnan Province and aged. The store sells tea aged for 60 years, 40 years and 30 years. The price of old pu?ˉer is like the price of old, quality wine. Some pu?ˉers can cost hundreds of thousands of yuan per brick.
We mainly sell tea to people who know tea and like tea,?± says owner Cai Jianrui, adding that customers can come to taste and try and they do not have to buy.
Address: 182 Xinyifang St
Hours: Opens at noon, but closing hours vary.
When it was rebuilt a decade ago, the street was expected to be general commercial street that would boost the economy. It lies on either side of a small canal created with water from the nearby Grand Canal. Three bridges connect the tree-lined pathways and lanterns along the way are reflected in the water at night.
But for years many kinds of stores came and went, and only the restaurants and bars survived in what has become a lively entertainment area. Shanghai Daily pays a visit.
Little Wine House
Wine shops and wine bars have been opening in the past couple of years on Xinyifang Street and now there are around a dozen.
Little Wine House is one of the few that?ˉs open late, since the owners like to treat their friends from time to time. It?ˉs more like a comfortable room where people can relax, sip wine and read a book.
Xu Liming is the main shareholder and also runs a wine magazine Bacchus.
?°With the increase in the number of wine stores in the country, Chinese people have more knowledge about wine and I hope I can change people who only know ganbei (bottoms up) into wine drinkers," he says.
Patrons can buy a bottle or drink wine by the glass. Staff is trained to help customers make a selection.
All the wines are imported from France, Italy, Spain, Australia, Chile and elsewhere. The price is inexpensive; the most inexpensive wine is 50 yuan (US$7.90) a bottle.
Address: 209 Xinyifang St
Hours: 10am-9pm
Xinyifang Seafood Stall
This is a large covered night market containing more than 20 food stalls. It can accommodate around 1,000 shoppers.
The seafood range is enormous, including all kinds of fish, crabs, prawns, shrimp, hairtail fish, oysters, claims, snails and other molluscs. They are mostly purchased from coastal Zhejiang areas, such as Zhoushan and Wenzhou. Everything is displayed on ice or in tanks and shoppers pick out their seafood and order it prepared any way they like. It's typically steamed, stir-fried or scalded, preserving the natural flavor.
Customers know what's in season and what's best to eat. For example, summer is the season to eat mussels that are juicy and fat; autumn is the season for swimming crabs (suozi xie ?ó×óD·) that are accumulating roe and fat for the winter. Swimming crabs taste best in late autumn. Winter is the season when hairtail fish, a long thin kind of mackerel, gets fat and tender.
Address: West end of Xinyifang St, intersection of Xinyifang and Moganshan streets.
Hours: 6pm-1am
Barter Store
This is the first known barter store where people exchange second-hand goods in the city.
It displays a wide range of goods, everything from jade and jewelry to cosmetics and CDs. There?ˉs a lot of fashion and bags.
People are encouraged to leave their second-had goods at the store until they are sold on commission. Sellers are also encouraged to take payment in other goods, rather than cash.
Neighbors often stop by for a look after they have dinners.
The ages of sellers vary, but there are many women between 30 and 40 years old, says store manager Zhang Jian.
Fashion, handbags, jade items and daily use items are among the most commonly traded. Factories sometimes place unsold products in the store at low prices.
There?ˉs an online store (http://www.eeba.cn) that has around 10,000 members.
Address: 1/F, No. 8 Mansion of Xinyifang St (west end of the street)
Hours: 10am-9pm
Qian Jing Tea Store
This is the only tea shop on the street. It survives not because it earns much money but because it?ˉs a meeting place for the store owners and their friends.
It only opens after noon and sometimes closes early, sometimes quite late, depending on the owners?ˉ mood.
It offers all kinds of Chinese teas as well as tea ware. The staple is pu?ˉer tea, a fermented tea produced in southwest China?ˉs Yunnan Province and aged. The store sells tea aged for 60 years, 40 years and 30 years. The price of old pu?ˉer is like the price of old, quality wine. Some pu?ˉers can cost hundreds of thousands of yuan per brick.
We mainly sell tea to people who know tea and like tea,?± says owner Cai Jianrui, adding that customers can come to taste and try and they do not have to buy.
Address: 182 Xinyifang St
Hours: Opens at noon, but closing hours vary.
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