Thinking of a dark-skinned, coarse-handed Chinese street vendor in rags? Times have changed. While old-style vendors are still common, there are new ones.

At about 7 p.m., as the summer heat burned the Beijing Modern Plaza on the western side of the city, 27-year-old Zhang Yuan parked his car and pulled out a foldable clothes rack.

He then hung a full bag of T-shirts on the rack and started work as a street vendor.

Zhang, who works for an advertising company, recalled how he entered the street selling business in March. "I just thought it was fun when I saw people who drove their own cars were setting up stalls by the road."

Relying on friends' help, ordering from Internet stores and buying directly at wholesale markets, Zhang said his passion for his side-job was no less intense than that for advertising.

"But honestly, I haven't made much money," he said with a smile.

With a monthly salary of about 6,000 yuan (878 U.S. dollars), a fairly good amount in Beijing, Zhang said he could earn just enough money to pay for gas each month.

"I'm already very happy with that," he said. "Besides, I can meet different people, much more interesting than killing time on the Internet or drinking in a bar."

Zhang was not alone. Nearby, similar vendors were offering clothes, shoes, hats, ornaments and cosmetics.

The scene was similar in Chengdu, capital of western China's Sichuan Province, where Cheng Jia, 24, was leaning against a wall and waiting for passersby to buy her earrings and bracelets.

Chen works in the marketing department of a private company and makes 3,000 yuan a month. To her, being a street vendor is a "fashionable lifestyle."

"I can earn some extra money and experience a different life," said Chen, who makes about 100 yuan each day from the stand.

In Shanghai, too, 26-year-old Zhao Zhao is enjoying bargaining to sell her ornaments and fighting with other vendors for space.

"I'm still very inexperienced in the business," she said. "Luckily, I haven't gotten any counterfeit money."

Zhao works as a teaching assistant at a prestigious Shanghai university.


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