Market update
Alarge logo with the Chinese characters (double towers) on one side of the entrance gate is what first catches the eyes of visitors. The renovated Shuangta Market in Suzhu, Jiangsu province, formerly a traditional farmers’ market, reopened to the public on Dec 17 and provides a slice of the unique and faded (south bank of the Yangtze) vibe amid the city’s busy traffic and modern skyline.
Back in the day, the Jiangnan region used to be the favored haunt of the Chinese literati. Suzhou, in particular, boasts scenery comprised of elegant, exquisite waters and traditional buildings with their white walls and gray stone tiled roofs. The city government has been trying for many years to balance the conurbation’s development on the pillar of its ancient elegance.
Inspired by the ancient Suzhou numerals, also known as
a numeral system used in China before the introduction of Hindu numerals, and applied to private notes and accounts, the artistic design of the logo, exudes Suzhou’s authentic flavor and charm. The word (market) is engraved in the shape of a red seal, providing a backdrop against which many visitors like to take pictures.
In recent years, traditional farmers’ markets across the country, which usually only sell fresh produce, are being transformed to meet China’s tougher food sanitary standards and the newly-renovated Shuangta Market covers an area of nearly 2,000 square meters. It not only serves as a hub for purchasing daily necessities, but also as a space that integrates life into art, allowing residents of surrounding neighborhoods to check off items on their grocery list and to while away a pleasant few hours.
The interior decoration of the market has retained many old Suzhou elements, like straw rain capes, rice wine tanks, fish baskets and agricultural tools.
“When you come to the Shuangta Market, you can go to the eateries while watching art performances, and drink a cup of coffee whiling reading a book. This will completely overturn the traditional positioning of the farmers’ market and become the best presentation of a mashup of market functions,” says Zhang Jie, deputy director of Gusu district’s economy and technology bureau.
The city’s decision-makers are learning to grapple with the balance between the old and new on the premise of maintaining a clean and orderly city, and their effort in turn helps Suzhou to be seen by the Chinese a naturally ideal city, where the mist, rain and moist climate cultivates a culture and sweetness inclusive to all walks of life.
The Shuangta Market reconstruction project was initiated by the