[Cross-Strait] Taiwanese Night Market Debuts in Beijing; Vendors Say There's Still Opportunity Amidst Consumption Downgrade

A night market fair, advertised as having a "Taiwanese flavor," opened in Beijing's Tongzhou District starting on the 16th, with over 50 vendors participating. Some vendors stated that compared to before the pandemic, income is not as good now, but some Taiwanese are setting up snack stalls in Beijing for the first time to "test the waters." The opening ceremony of the 2026 Beijing-Taiwan Beautiful Countryside Forum series of activities and the "Beautiful Countryside • Cha Cha GO" June market officially opened today. The market is located outside a large shopping mall in Tongzhou, Beijing, and will last for six days. Every stall is advertised as selling Taiwanese snacks such as oyster omelets, Shenkeng stinky tofu, pig's blood cake, grilled squid, taro milk, and winter melon tea. Although these stall owners are all Taiwanese, there are differences between those who came "earlier" and those who came "later." Boss Zhang came to the mainland to work in engineering in 2004, but later found it difficult. Around 2009, he switched careers to sell Taiwanese snacks and has participated in Taiwanese snack festivals in various cities in China. He said that business was best from 2010 to 2015, when mainland Chinese had a stronger sense of novelty towards Taiwan. The current "consumption downgrade" among Chinese people is also reflected in the night market, where some customers now share one meal among three or four people. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, during good times, snack stalls could generate RMB 20,000 to 30,000 in revenue per day at events. Now, on regular days, it might be RMB 5,000 per day, and this is before deducting costs and venue rental, with variations among stalls. Several young people from Taiwan are also participating for the first time by setting up stalls in Beijing. They want to see the feasibility of doing business on the mainland. On the mainland, a pig's blood cake or a cup of bubble tea at a night market is priced around RMB 18 (approximately NT$83), which is relatively high. Therefore, some people believe their income will be better than in Taiwan. The market is one of the peripheral activities of the 2026 Beijing-Taiwan Beautiful Countryside Forum. The forum focuses on cross-strait agricultural exchanges. At the opening ceremony, Li Xuqing, founder of "Yi Xin Hui Xiang Group" from Taiwan, specializing in organic agriculture, delivered a speech. Indigenous performers from Kaohsiung danced and livened up the atmosphere, inviting Zhou Ning, vice president of the mainland's Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits, and other Beijing officials to dance on stage.