Rescue & Aid

Retail shops reopen to meet needs

By Zuo Likun (China Daily)
Updated: 2010-04-23 07:29

YUSHU, Qinghai - About 60 retail shops in Yushu in Northwest China's Qinghai province have reopened following the earthquake that struck the region to help meet the needs of local residents.

These shops mainly sell daily necessities, such as food, and clothing, He Shaomin, director of the provincial commerce department, told reporters at the rescue headquarter on Thursday.

According to He, starting from Thursday commercial authorities will expand the number of temporary vendors to better serve residents in the quake-hit region.

The Ministry of Commerce on Wednesday delivered 50 prefabricated shops, 35 tent shops and six mobile shops to the Qinghai provincial government in Xining, which were due to be transported to Yushu on Thursday, the ministry said in a statement.

Full Coverage:

The ministry has also requisitioned 600 tons of frozen beef and mutton for the region and coordinated wholesale markets in neighboring Sichuan, Shaanxi and Gansu provinces, as well as in the Ningxia Hui autonomous region, to ensure there is a sufficient supply of fresh vegetables, the statement said.

There has been a slight rise in the price of meat and vegetables in Xining and in some neighboring areas of Gansu and Sichuan provinces, but in general the price of daily necessities has remained stable.

Commercial premises were hit hard in the 7.1 magnitude earthquake in Yushu. About 60 percent of the business outlets in the region collapsed, while another 30 percent sustained damaged, ministry figures show.

In the next few days, the ministry plans to increase the number of temporary shops in the quake region and encouraged private business operators to resume services, particularly in the catering and hairdressing sectors.

Storeowner Chen Chunxiang places daily supplies on shelves for sale at the Gyegu’s farmer market on Thursday. LI ZIHENG / XINHUA

The supply of ethnic food, such as tsamba and butter, will be increased and the price monitoring system will be extended from Xining to Yushu, the ministry said.

However, in Yushu many small businesses are uncertain about their future, including those proprietors who have decided to stay.

Jiang Hui, a small businessman from Nanyang city of Central China's Henan province, on Wednesday reopened his shop in Gyegu, the center of Yushu county.

He and his wife set up their relief tent at the front of their damaged shop, laying out goods for sale, including toothbrushes, towels, soap and batteries.

"So far, we've decided to stay and sell some salvageable goods," he said.

Jiang said they will wait to see if there is any government policy for quake loss compensation - a common concern of many of those in business who decided to stay.

"The crux of the problem is how to handle the aftermath, so we all stick here," Han Dawu, another businessman whose 1.8-million-yuan hotel partly collapsed in the quake, told China Daily.

"Besides, our kids need to study here," he said. "If we went back to my hometown, the Xunhua county of Gansu province, this would be a problem."

China Daily

(China Daily 04/23/2010 page6)