daxing, china farmers market

Daxing is a suburb on the south side of Beijing, that has rapidly transformed from a rural outpost to a thriving part of the giant Beijing metro area in the last few years. I visited this area a few times in the time period between 2006 and 2012 when I was working on a project to build a Camp Woodward in partnership with the Chinese government. From Beijing, we would take the freeway south of town and exit on some smaller roads in the Daxing district. The first time we went this way I noticed a huge outdoor market just off the road into Daxing and talked our hosts into stopping for me to shoot some photos. After speaking to a few people to understand the purpose of this market I came to understand that this was where the rural farmers would bring their vegetables to market and the wholesalers from Beijing would come to buy for the tens of thousands of restaurants in the capital city. The thing that was instantly noticeable was the insane machinery in action at this market. The farmers had these incredible tractors that it seemed were fashioned to work the fields and then transport to market. There were bizarre looking three wheeled scooters, tractors with hand controls and bicycles with hundreds of pounds of vegetables on the back. All of the vehicles looked like they were from a different planet and looked 80 years old with ancient Soviet and Chinese technology. It blew me away how we could only be 30 miles from China’s hypermodern capital and we had seemingly traveled back in time by 80 years to this rural market. The vehicles were rusted, duct taped together and covered with crusted mud from the fields. The wholesalers from Beijing usually drove mini vans or small utility trucks and you could tell if the vehicle came from the North or South based on the look and age of the vehicle. Some of the farmers clothes look like old military issue. Thick, worn canvas. Everything here is weathered. The vehicles, the clothing, the people. This is not the new shiny fancy China, that is 30 miles to the north, but might as well be a million miles away. This is a China of the past, and one the is fast fading into memory. Ironically enough, our project to open a Camp Woodward in Daxing was put on hold by the Chinese government when they announced plans to build a giant international airport in the district and pulled the funding for our project (after it had already been built and we had a Grand Opening). Daxing will now be known for this massive new airport, just like the once sleepy village outside of Tokyo called Narita is now only known for it’s massive airport. By the time I am writing this, a lot of these farmers land has probably been swallowed up by the ever expanding capital city. The old farm tractors replaced by new mini vans. The worn military issue canvas replaced by the designer look from the city. Because progress

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