Textile mart becomes a national landmark in Shanghai

The mart is located at 1618 Cao'an Road in Shanghai's West Main Gate district, the western gateway to the city. It is always busy, with between 30,000 and 40,000 people visiting daily.

Established with the approval of the municipal government at the end of 1994, it is the only mart of its kind and caters not only to the local community, but also traders from other parts of the country and abroad. It has also been designated by the Ministry of Internal Trade as a commodity market checkpoint.

Conveniently located at the starting point of National Highway 312, the mart is linked with the Shanghai-Nanjing, Shanghai-Jiaxing and Shanghai-Ningbo expressways, the Western Station of the Shanghai Rail, the Hongqiao Airport and Shanghai's inner and outer ring roads. More than a dozen public bus routes pass through the mart.

The mart sits on a 4.67 hectare-site, with additional supporting facilities. It has a floor area of 120,000 sqm and over 4,000 shop spaces, with over 2,000 businesses in operation.

Most businesses deal in textile and light industrial products, as well as garments, shoes and hats, piece goods, bags and luggage and furniture. With several hundred thousand households living in residential estates in the neighbourhood, the mart is visited by up to 50,000 people on a good day.

According to assistant general manager Tang Xiaozhong, the mart grossed Rmb1.3 billion (HK$1.2 billion) last year and turnover is expected to reach Rmb1.45 billion (HK$1.3 billion) this year. There are two peak seasons each year, with the major sales peak starts from September through to the Spring Festival, while the minor peak starts from March and ends in May. Business is relatively slow in July and August.

Buyers arrive from all over the country, primarily from Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Shanghai itself. Many operators of shops on famous shopping streets like Nanjing Road and Huaihai Road are now getting their supplies from the mart to save traveling expenses. Traders from the Middle East, Africa and Eastern Europe also arrive to make purchases. Turnover has been growing at an annual rate of over 10% over the past two years.

The government invested over Rmb40 million (HK$37 million) to make the mart a better place to shop. The improvements included installation of escalators, rebuilding of the trading area, renovation of the décor and upgrading of fire prevention facilities.