hey guys,
does anyone know what happened to the huge vegetable market on hongshandonglu??? i wanted to buy some stuff there today, but when i arrived i found it closed with a lot of people (probably the seller) standing outside. now i heard its permanently closed?? still hope thats a bad joke, since i pretty much relied on that market (vegetables, goat cheese, bread...), but im afraid its not.
does anyone know the reasons and/or whether its just moving to another place???
otherwise: any places where i can buy goat cheese in that area???
just went to the market and it was open!
i asked the woman i normally buy my vegtables from whats going on and she told me that they arent able to pay the rent for the building (im not sure whether the landlord raised it or not) and that they are going to close on the 31st. they havent decided yet, whether they are going to move to another place. at least thats what i understood (my chinese is pretty poor, so i cant guarantee that this is what she really said, but i think so).
daniel, thanks a lot for the link, i tried to read it before, but there was no chance i could get all or even most of it;-)
so if you have any contrary or other news let us know!
I just read the article. Apparently the landlord company, claiming that it's a condemned building, announced that it will shut down the market and demolish it beginning on January first. A lot of the vendors and residents are pissed off, even passing around petitions. There are tons of rumors floating around, with the vendors accusing the landlord of leasing it out to a developer with nearby projects to use as a storehouse for construction materials.
The landlord has refused to comment, but apparently told a representative of the vendors that he will be building a new market nearby in about six months. I really hope they make good on that.
The place should remain open for the next week or so.
There's another, smaller market tucked into an alley about halfway up the hill, but it's nothing compared to this one, and I don't know how to give you directions to it. If you need anything special, I'd suggest the market at Xinwen Lu. It's a bit of a hike, but it's even bigger than the Hongshan one.
that's really sad that market is closing. i have used that one a lot for tahini, peanut butter, nuts and rubing.
esther i suggest the closest market that sells goat cheese is probably the one near the art university. if you follow the train tracks away from the Hong Shan Dong Lu market (away from Jian She Lu), cross the big road and under the next junction (beside Think UK) there is a big market which is on both sides of the train tracks. If you come that way there are a few stalls in the right hand side which sell goat cheese, beef, tofu etc. it doesn't have everything though, none of that tasty muslim bread stuff, or good oats, or peanut butter...
thanks emmi1 for the goat cheese advice, guess i wont have another option the moment the market closes.
i know about the smaller market xiefei mentioned, even been there today and maybe its because of the comparisson, but it sucks. even the choice of vegetables is really poor (at least today), not to mention the bread, goat cheese...
Goat cheese can be bought at the Long Xiang Jie market (a minutes walk west from the Jian She Lu/Long Xiang Jie intersection) or at Qian Ju Jie market, but I don't buy from that vendor anymore as she tends to raise her prices for foreigners, the holidays, her big toe nail has grown longer, etc. Neither are close to hong shan dong lu, but if you're in the area...
