Salons leave old-style barbers on the street
Traditional operators take up posts on pavements to offer cheaper, convenient haircuts. Li Hongyang reports.
On a January afternoon, temperatures in Beijing fell to -10 C during an unexpected cold snap. People rushed around the streets with their jacket hoods pulled up to protect their faces from the bitter wind.
Despite the cold, an elderly woman was providing haircuts for residents outside an apartment block in Haidian district.
Using a corner of the building to shield her from the icy blasts and dressed snugly in a down jacket, cap and cotton shoes, she used an old bicycle to carry her tools, including clippers, a broom, a stool and a card printed with a QR code for mobile payment.
Xing Xiuzhen, from Chengde, Hebei province, has been plying her trade at the spot since November. Though she once owned two barber salons in the capital, the 60-year-old is one of many older people who have turned to on-street, freelance barber work to pay the bills.
Her attempts to establish a hairdressing empire nearly 30 years ago ended in failure. In 1995, she traveled to Beijing, leaving her husband and two daughters at home in Chengde, and rented a 60-square-meter salon near what is now Zhongguancun Science Park, a tech hub.
She later opened a second salon, but was forced to close it in 2008 because the manager she had employed failed to run the shop properly. When her business failed, Xing took work on construction sites and eventually moved in with one of her daughters, who had relocated to Beijing to work for a hightech company.
As she has no pension, the senior now earns a living through her hairdressing skills.
New broom
During the past decade, momand-pop barbershops have been squeezed out nationwide, so chain salons now dominate the market.
As Chinese people become wealthier and more demanding about beauty standards, they want delicate designs to enhance the look and style of their hair.
The sector initially expanded by encouraging a large number of young people to gain hairdressing skills and join the booming market.
Meanwhile, a range of new elements, including fashionable salons decorated like factories and playing background music popular on streaming apps, have convinced customers that such accessories are the height of fashion.
Better services mean higher prices, though, so customers can expect to pay hundreds of yuan for a haircut. By contrast, Xing charges just 15 yuan ($2.30) per person.
“Salon fees are too high. I set up my barber spot for people who earn their money the hard way and can’t afford such places,” she said, adding that she has about 20 customers a day.
Despite her popularity with locals, the apartment block’s managers are more concerned about appearances. They often ask her to leave, saying she is occupying a public space, but they have never forced her to vacate the spot.
“I am not worried about being expelled or losing business. I have savings and my daughter always gives me about 20,000 yuan from her year-end bonus,” Xing said.
“I can make the best of things and move around nearby neighborhoods to conduct my business.”
A bitter life
Li, a 50-something barber who would only give her surname, said her life is tough.
As footfall is plentiful on the streets near the Beijing Anzhen Hospital in Chaoyang district, she conducts her business at the roadside.
The wind blows the cuttings onto the ground and Li is often too busy to clean up immediately.
A street sweeper responsible for the road walks past her often, but he usually ignores his duty as he is confident that the freelance barber he sees every day will eventually get around to doing the job.
However, the local street inspectors refuse to ignore the problem, and they often tell Li and two other barbers who work nearby to leave the area.
Li used to work as a saleswoman at a clothing store in a shopping mall. However, constantly lifting boxes left her with periarthritis, or “frozen shoulder”, a condition that limits arm movement, meaning she was no longer able to work regular hours. Instead, she turned to on-street hairdressing, a skill she learned in her youth.
“It’s hard work to lift up my arms while trimming customers’ hair, but I have no choice. Life is hard for people at my age,” she said.
Mature infrastructure
Unlike Xing’s attempts to found a business empire in the 1990s, Ye Wangeng, who runs 150 chain salons nationwide, has found it easy to expand as China’s small-business infrastructure is now more mature.
He said it was inevitable that such salons would replace all the momand-pop shops because their staff members regularly receive training so they can cater to customers who demand the latest styles.
The 41-year-old has stores in Shanghai, Tianjin, the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region and the provinces of Zhejiang, Anhui and Jiangsu. He employs more than 3,000 people.
“A hairdresser who doesn’t keep learning can’t survive in the industry. Some street hairdressers never had the ambition to learn or improve,” he said.
In 2000, after five years as an apprentice, Ye rented some premises and started his own hair salon. A year later, he opened his second outlet and his career took off as his salons spread across East China.
“Only by opening more salons could I guarantee a sustainable business. If I just rented one salon, I would never be secure because the landlord might suddenly terminate the lease,” he said.
Low prices
A 68-year-old Beijing resident who gave his surname as Wang said he goes to street barbers because their prices are low and he can be sure of getting an old-style cut.
“Barber shops in Beijing charge too much, and I’m unwilling to stretch my slender pension to pay them. I’d rather go to a street barber. I was angry about an experience I had at a fancy barber shop. The young barber cut my hair in a fashionable style, shaving both sides and leaving a tuft of hair in the middle. I disliked it and felt ashamed when I visited old friends with that funny haircut,” he said.
“Barbers on the street, most of whom are about my own age, know the type of cut I want; they charge much less and work quickly.”
He said he understands that it is the inspectors’ duty to reduce clutter on the streets, but elderly residents like him need the convenience provided by people such as street barbers.
Xing said the property managers at her apartment block have promised to find a room where she can provide a service for residents, but so far there have been no developments.
“I like the idea and I think my regular customers will, as well. They need a cheap indoor barbershop, too,” she said.