It had been 5 years since I visited Guangzhou. I had visited Guangzhou on many occasions as the wholesale tea market there is the biggest in China.
There were many changes in Guangzhou. There is now more subway lines throughout the city. There is a new line that has a stop right outside the main tea market in Guangzhou. Literally a doorstep away. Guangzhou had changed during the past 5 years. in turn, these changes had affected the Chinese tea market. Here is what I had observed.
1. The economic infrastructure had improved. Within the city, transportation is efficient and new. I saw several taxis and ride sharing vehicles were all electric. Even motorcycles. Most people are now paying electronically and the use of physical cash was significantly reduced. High speed trains connect many cities reducing transport time. Impressive.
2. Yes, world trade has slowed down and China is affected as well. However, ecommerce business within China had cushioned the reduced China export economy. I noticed many retail shops having mini photo booths, to take pictures of their products. Owners and shopkeepers now go online to hawk their products. There were even live telecasts where their followers can have access to 'flash sales'. Packing off the sold products was easy. Inexpensive door to door deliveries enabled the sellers to dispatch their orders, with the orders reaching any part of China with 2-3 days. My tea shop friends ordered fruits from Xinjiang and Fujian with these fruits arriving within 2 days. Hungry? Have your piping hot food orders delivered within 30 minutes. The e-commerce industry in China is to me, a super size giant economic eco system and this economy is still growing like a speeding bullet.
3. At the tea markets, shop keepers were also selling their tea and tea wares online. I saw many shops selling their stuff online. Even though the Fangchun tea markets comprised primarily tea wholesalers, this had not stopped them from retailing their tea online. Sales of tea had slowed down these 2 years and in my friend's. words..."online sales had helped pay for many expenses". E-commerce is a very big market within China. It is a cut throat market as well. Search for a particular tea say Chen pi , or dried orange peels, and I got more than a few hundred online hits or offerings for this product. Yes, buyers are spoilt for choice and sellers had to be on their toes to keep their prices competitive and their product offerings unique.
to be continued......
