Garment market near zoo closing, moving to Hebei province

The Jinkai Lide Garment Market, known as the zoo market due to its proximity to the Beijing Zoo, will cease operations on Thursday, and wholesalers are expected to offer store-closing discounts before moving their operations to Heibi province.

The zoo market has been around for generations and holds special memories for Beijing's many students, who were drawn by its inexpensive, yet fashionable clothes and shoes. In an effort to get better deals, some enthusiastic student shoppers pretended to be a wholesale merchants, carrying the black plastic bags that are ubiquitous in the trade.

Now, as part of Beijing's program to move low-end industries out of the capital, shops in the market will be relocated to cities such as Shijiazhuang and Yongqing in Hebei province. By the end of 2017, all markets in the zoo area will overhauled as high-tech hubs geared toward the development of high-end industries that won't produce as much traffic congestion.