In Xiaotang, Shishan, there is a living habit called visiting the Libai ("weekend" in Cantonese) Street.
Libai Street has been here for a long time, and it has existed around the 90s. Why is it called Libai Street? As the name suggests, this street only opens on Saturdays and Sundays. Every weekend, there will be nearly a thousand stalls. All kinds of high-quality and low-priced goods gather here. Housewives come here and shop with their little carts. Bargaining noises come one after another. Over the years, the hustle and bustle has become an indispensable part of local people's life.
Nearly a thousand stalls with a wide variety of goods and affordable prices
The neighbourhoods who come to street get up earlier than the other. On Saturday morning, the parking spaces in Xiaotang Park, Central Elementary School and other places close to Libai Street will be already full. After 10 o'clock, the flow of people on the street becomes more and more. Those who come with families and kids, those who travel around on bicycles, those who giving their grandchild a piggy back ride... they chat about family with each other, or shop for their favourite things. A hubbub of voices keeps this place very lively.
There will be stall owners coming to unload the goods at around 4 in the morning, ready to sell the goods that morning. The market will not be closed until about 8:00 p.m. Walking on the street, there is a dazzling array of goods. You will probably see a clothes stall at this minute and find a fruit stand just around the corner. After the boxes are laid out and the goods are put on the boards, the stall is ready for the day. It could be a gadget in front as you keep walking. In short, the surprise is always next, and what you are looking for will always be found.
Customers walk around the market. After bargaining with the vendors, they get what they want at a satisfactory price and go home happily with the “war trophies”. Some people think this kind of fun must be hard to feel in the supermarket.
In the street, a tent becomes a small home for the vendors. Various goods are placed in front of them. The vendors hang around their stall, sometimes chatting with the passers-by, sometimes sorting out the goods and waiting quietly for the next customer.
A pair of warm stockings originally selling at 20 yuan can be taken away with a discount in the end after bargaining. The vendor says the stall rent is not expensive, coupled with the advantage of the wholesale price when they get the goods, so they usually make the prices affordable. What's more, they are doing neighbourhood business. They almost see one another every day. They would keep the prices reasonable to get the business going.
When you visit a street market like this it is impossible to avoid all kinds of candies and snacks. You can always see kids asking their parents for a snack - dried raisins, chocolate bars, preserved fruit, gummy candies... you will always have to let the kids have a mouthful to stop them from crying, and finally let them hold one or two bags to keep them satisfied.
All kinds of medicinal materials are intriguing and interesting. Dujiaojin helps remove food retention. Dried dandelion relieves inflammation and helps with detoxification. And there are also various types of dried flowers such as roses and chrysanthemums, which you can make tea with.
Baked sweet potato, Chinese pudding, sticks of sugar-coated haws, bean curd jelly... There are so many snacks on Libai Street, which allows you to eat while walking around.
Fruit vendors sometimes do not have a fixed stall. Their mobile truck is filled with seasonal fruits which looks like a small fruit mountain. They use their own truck as a stall, so they do not need to pay rent. What they sell is usually a bit cheaper because of the lower cost. It is a place where budget-conscious housewives like to gather.
Whether it is a scindapsus that helps purify the air, or a variety of potted flowers and green plants, or beautifully packaged flower arrangements, everyone can find their love in this small market.
People in Guangdong can't do without soup. They are also good at making soup. Lots of ingredients can be added in soup in Guangdong people’s opinion. Beans, vegetables, chicken, meat, fish... you name it. Usually several materials are added at the same time to make a nice combination. If you run out of ideas about what to make next, ask the vendor! They are always there to offer ideas.
People walking here always have their hands full with bags of stuff. The neighbours say this street has been here for so long. Shopping here is very convenient as goods at a low price with nice quality can be easily found. And there is a wide range of things for you to choose. If you don’t find something you want in one stall, just move forward to the second stall. With several hundreds yuan, you can buy a lot of things, which is satisfying.
Among the vendors, there are people who have stayed with this street for more than a decade.
Neighbours who often visit the street know that this street has experienced several adjustment and its location has also changed. According to reports, in the early 1990s, Libai Street started to take shape on Sixian Road, a street about five to six hundred meters long. At the beginning, there were not many people going shopping. Who knew that a few years later, the short Sixian Road could no longer contain more and more stalls as it had attracted many vendors.
Later, around 2008, Libai Street moved to Zhanqian Road. Libai Street was like a money plant - wherever it was planted, it would bring prosperity. At the beginning Zhanqian Road was quiet empty and quiet, it flourished immediately after Libai Street moved in. What's more, the stalls began to gradually extend to the side alleys. Around 2012, Libai Street moved to its current location. Stalls can be seen everywhere on Zhanqian Road to the east of Jiaoyu Road, Xingxiang Road, and the big road to the north of Xiti International building. Walking along Xiaotang Central Primary School, you can find that the Libai Street crisscross. It takes more than an hour to walk through this long and crisscross street.
Every relocation of Libai Street recorded changes in the development of the town. Mr Liang, also known as the Prince of Sweet Potatoes, has been selling sweet potatoes on Libai Street for more than ten years. He said wherever Libai Street is located, the same road will become prosperous, and it will also bring about the development of the surrounding areas.
Although it has been relocated several times, the price of goods in the street still remains friendly and reasonable. A pair of thin stockings for 10 yuan. A pair of fluffy winter slippers for 15 yuan. 2 kg of citrus fruit for 10 yuan... Over the years, with its high quality and low price, it has been loved by the neighborhood.
The street now has become a part of the daily routine for the neighbours here. What opinions do they have about Libai Street?
A local named Xiaobai says he comes to Libai Street every week. Some of the neighbours from his village are vendors here. They have their own stalls. He wants to show up and give them his support. And what is memorable to him is that, a long time ago it was very cold in Foshan. The weather was not pleasant at all, but the vendors did not leave. In order to make a living, they chose to stay. It was at the moment that I realised there were people around us who were trying hard to make a life.
Prince of Sweet Potatoes - Mr Liang says he has had his stall for more than a decade now. It would be a lie if he told you he didn’t like this street. He had heard about this street before he got married, and now he is in his 40s. How time flies! He is familiar with all the faces that comes to his stall. He sees the locals walk around every day, and they often calls him by his nick names - Sweet Potato Guy. And he likes it.
And there’s this lady who is 77 years old. She says visiting the Libai Street has become a habit of hers. She goes there almost every Saturday and it has been years. Every time she visits, she can always find something she likes, and go home with a big bag of stuff. She hopes Libai Street can stay for a long time. Otherwise she doesn’t know where she can find such good bargain.
On Libai Street, it seems everyone can easily have a casual chat with others. When the locals see an old face, they might get in the stall and sit on a red stool and just have a random chat. The chats could last for the whole morning. When there is a customer looking, they would probably help sell the goods.
Such friendly and warm scenes can be seen often in Libai Street. It is probably the beautiful time brought by a simple but peaceful life. For the people here, Libai Street is not just a place for business, but also a long street filled with bonds of human kindness.
