Beijing Pawnshop

By the late Qing Dynasty, the pawn industry was flourishing in Beijing, but there was once an incident of "robbing the pawnshops" in 1900. (?? What incident does this refer to?) Pawnshops were so common that four hutongs (old alley districts) in Beijing were named dangpu (pawnshop) hutongs, though most hutongs changed their name when pawnshops disappeared after the establishment of the People's Republic of China.

Pawnshop Li, situated in Dongcheng district, is a historical relic under municipal protection. The building, owned by the Li family, has a fortress-like compound, so it is also called "Fort Li."

  Shanghai Pawnshop

In today's Shanghai pawnshops, 80 per cent of pawned items are still old: jewelry, clocks and watches, and antiques. These things are easily convertible to cash, and the risks are relatively low. But unlike the traditional pawnshops described by Lu Xun in his novel, pawnshops are now more a place for the haves than the have-nots.

Statistics show that about half the pawnshop customers are private companies, and the rest are regular citizens. They go there not because they don't earn enough, but in most cases, because their money is stuck in a bank, stock market, or other investments. As a Shanghai pawnshop's advertisement says, "People with opportunities go the pawnshop; people with agile minds go the pawnshop; people who can manage their finances well go the pawnshop; people with assets go the pawnshop." This notion has completely changed the traditional function of pawnshops. However, many people still won't go to pawnshops, fearing that this would harm their good image.

The clerks in pawnshops are not likely to use the usual polite commercial rhetoric like saying "welcome back", but this hasn't stopped pawnshops from becoming a new way for Shanghai residents to get finance.

Currently, there are 42 pawnshops in Shanghai, and one out of five customers are small company owners.

Author: Jeff

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