Unusal street vendors

Well, we are all too familiar with the street vendors in our own countries. The hot dog stands of new york, or the ice cream carts. In England the hot chesnuts in the winter months and the ice cream van. In Israel the hot corn street seller or the hole in the wall falafel stand. We have all travelled and tasted the delights.

Here in China it is a little different. I am not talking about the food market, those are not so common in Beijing, as they are today enclosed in buildings and not open on the street. We have all been to food markets in other places; the food markets of Israel, the fish in Holland, the wine and stuffed olives and tomatos of Vienna and many others.

Here, the small stand with umbrella attached, more for a decoration than to keep off the sun or rain, are attached again to a bicycle. Their wares are steamy hot, as the Chinese like to eat their dumplings hot and their porridge too. Even milk sold in cans or packets is warmed. Behind the stand, there is another bicycle plus a small steel cabinet, that seems to be used to keep extra supplies.

A glass cabinet is attached (again to a bicycle, no wheelbarrows here) and sells either skinny hot dogs, dumplings or fruit coated something like a toffee apple. I have not yet worked out if they
have to be licensed or are able to set up shop wherever they please, but you certainly have to speak Chinese here to be able to be a street vendor.

Chinese kiosks that can be found on strategic corners, selling every version of english magazine, but in chinese. Comics and daily newspapers are sold way into the night, unlike in Israel where
we have kiosks lining Tel Aviv selling sandwiches, I must admit I do miss those things.

It is such a contrast of lifestyle that the Chinese smoke in every public place, throw their cigarette butts freely and spit on the road, but road sweepers are in abundance here and have
little flexible shovels and brooms, plus masks over their mouths, constantly sweeping and cleaning the streets. In a mall is a big neon sign outside saying: 'No spitting, running, shouting, pushing ....'.

Another thing that is strange here is that you do not see any policemen, even traffic ones.
All the security guards and car park attendants are dressed like soldiers or officials, but keep only to their particular jobs and do not interfere with anything outside their duties.

Lastly, people here may be poor, but they do not appear to sleep on the streets and it is rare
and far between to see such a happening or even street beggars are scarce too.