Beijing's wholesale market has dramatically evolved from a bustling center of vendors into a modern financial innovation hub, symbolizing the city's high-quality development and strategic urban planning.
Once a bustling wholesale market located in Xicheng District with over 11,000 vendors, the area was known for its congestion and logistical difficulties. In 2014, it began relocating vendors to make way for the development of a modern financial district.
According to management authorities, the most challenging issue during the large-scale relocation process was disputes over property rights.
Through a series of mergers, restructuring, and financing efforts, Xicheng District, once home to a bustling wholesale trade network, now boasts sleek office buildings filled with startups and financial enterprises. Despite an obvious reduction in its workforce - now just a quarter of what it was decade ago - the district's GDP has more than doubled.
A striking sculpture made from 1,000 hangers and 2,000 welding points now stands as a tribute to the vendors who once thrived here. Shaped like a mythological creature, this art work symbolizes both the district's past and its bright future as a hub for financial technology (fintech) and innovation.
Today, the area has become a magnet for tech startups and financial companies, offering rent discounts, tax incentives, and robust support for new projects. In 2021, Beijing Interstella Glory Space Technology, a commercial rocket company, established its headquarters here for the district's attractive business environment.
"In fact, the business environment is extremely important for companies. Additionally, for businesses that have plans for future listings, aspects such as specialized training and guidance for financing, as well as talent acquisition, are also crucial," said Cai Jingqi, a representative from the company.
To phase out non-essential industries and promote coordinated development across the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, China's top economic planner introduced a three-year action plan recently, with 19 measures aimed at improving the business environment and supporting key sectors such as advanced manufacturing, cybersecurity, and financial services.
Beijing's wholesale market transforms into dynamic financial innovation hub
The visual design inspired by French Impressionist Claude Monet's oil paintings for the song "Flowers in the Years", performed at the China Media Group (CMG) 2025 Spring Festival Gala, spread a soothing effect and drew a smile on the faces of the audience as they remembered their romantic love stories.
Karen Mok and Mao Buyi collaborated to bring the song on a stage which featured an artificial intelligence-generated immersive sea of flowers.
The stunning outcome was achieved after rounds of improvements.
"We were all deeply moved by the song 'Flowers in the Years'. At first, our idea was to create the feeling of 'years' with the image of a monthly calendar, and then the visual effect of blooming flowers in each square of the month. However, after turning the idea into visual images, we found that the square is prone to limiting imaginations. Then the CMG president advised us to look for artistic expressions and concentrations in paintings by French Impressionists," said Jiang Yuhao, visual director of the Gala.
"When the CMG president reviewed the design for the third time, he further required us to turn the immersive sea of flowers into an oil painting which integrates the singers and the whole stage. We referred to the composition and arrangements of colors and spaces in the oil painting 'Promenade near Argenteuil' by Claude Monet, and carried out a lot of trainings and practices in the artificial intelligence model applied by CMG. Finally, we achieved the result where the singers and the stage formed an oil painting, and the moment was captured exactly at the Spring Festival Gala," said Jiang.
More than 2,900 media outlets in more than 200 countries and regions broadcast the CMG 2025 Spring Festival Gala live and covered the gala, which lasted over four hours after opening on the eve of the Chinese New Year of the Snake.
CMG delivered the gala in 82 languages, 14 more than in 2024, ensuring accessibility from Southeast Asia to South America. The broadcast's linguistic diversity was matched by its geographic spread: over 3,100 media partners, including CNN, Japan's Niconico, Russia's VK, and Italy's Alma TV, synchronized their coverage, amplifying the event's reach.
Inspiration from Claude Monet's oil painting creates romantic moments at CMG Spring Festival Gala