"National clothing to see Guangzhou, Guangzhou clothing to see the flow of flowers." Relying on the transportation advantages of Guangzhou Railway Station and taking the spring breeze of reform and opening up, Liuhua Business Circle quickly grew from the former transportation hub to the fashion benchmark of Chinese clothing trade. Its development history is also the evolutionary history of Chinese fashion.

From the subway "Guangzhou Railway Station" out of the station, there are dozens of large and small exports, of which H is the exit to the Liuhua clothing wholesale market, and is the farthest exit from the station hall. From the station hall to the H exit, you have to go through a narrow tunnel. This tunnel connecting the clothing wholesale market has been a road to wealth and dreams in many people's minds.

In the clothing wholesale city, a sister who runs a stall is fixed to and from this tunnel every day. “It used to be very difficult to go here. People crowded people and goods were crowded. In recent years, there have been fewer people and they have gone faster.” Hua Jie said, “Now young people are ordering online, warehouses are shipped directly, people No need to come over."

The Liuhua business circle originated in the late 1980s and officially rose in 1995. By 2015, there were 45 professional clothing markets in Liuhua Business Circle with a business area of 1.5 million square meters. Numerous Chinese fashion brands have taken off from here, and countless young people have realized their entrepreneurial dreams here.

After dozens of changes, this business card has gradually grown into a benchmark for Chinese fashion. Every step of it marks the history of China's growth and the history of Chinese fashion.

From "blue-green ash" to "five colors"

Walking in China in the late 1970s, the pedestrians on the road were all the military green and gray blue. In that era, "maverick" and "beauty" seemed to be derogatory words.

In the age when goods supply is scarce, buying clothes requires a cloth ticket. Buy cloth and go home to make clothes. The sound of the sewing machine is the fashion that belongs to that era.

In 1978, Pierre Cardin came to China for the first time. The Chinese on the street, regardless of gender, were gray and green.

In 1978, with the spring breeze of reform and opening up, the fashion industry in China was slowly awakened. The streets began to appear in different styles and colors, and the era of cloth tickets has long been history.

Since the early 1980s, wearing a suit and tie, leather shoes have become the standard for men. In the past, I thought that the great suits and ties have become the usual attire. There are many types of women's wear, and all kinds of floral dresses and long skirts are dazzling. People dress not only to protect the cold, but also to pursue the fit and beauty of clothing.

As the earliest port of trade, Guangzhou, coupled with Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan, received advanced information faster, and once became the birthplace of Chinese fashion.

From “Xihu Road Night Market” to “Flower Flower Circle”

With the awakening of China's fashion industry, the business of Guangzhou's clothing trade has gradually emerged. The Xihu Road Night Market, located in the center of Guangzhou, gradually cannot carry an increasing number of self-employed individuals. The government built a recreational clothing market next to the Canton Fair Liuhua Exhibition Hall on Renmin North Road to receive self-employed people in the night market.

At that time, the clothing market was more like a vegetable market. On the crowded road, the clothes and the food were sold together. Until January 8, 1993, the White Horse clothing market was fully opened.

“With the standardized management and high-quality goods from Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan, Baima was able to make a hit. It was less than half a year after the opening of the business. Hundreds of clothing self-employed people in the city flocked to grab the stalls,” said Chen Baohong, secretary general of Guangzhou Baima Clothing Chamber of Commerce.

In 1993, the newly opened Baima Commercial Building

Zheng Heming, chairman of Caesar (China) Co., Ltd., who started from Baima and continued to grow bigger, said: "At that time, Baima Merchants itself was an advertising campaign that didn't require payment. As long as you can enter White Horse, you will prove your strength."

When Zheng Heming was a coal unloader, a lumberjack, and an apprentice in his youth, he did not expect that the small stall he operated in the white horse clothing market in 1993 jumped in the future and became the "Chinese women's clothing." One share."

There is a Guangzhou railway station in front, backed by the Canton Fair Liuhua Exhibition Hall, and the Liuhua area, which has a good time and place, gathers the national clothing traders and buyers. In 1995, some venues of the Cotton Tree Hotel and Liuhua Hotel were also changed to the clothing market, and the core area of the Liuhua Business Circle was gradually formed.

"National clothing to see Guangzhou, Guangzhou clothing to see the flow of flowers", the influence of the Liuhua business circle not only radiates the country, but the capacity of the business circle is also expanding. New Dadi, Tianma, Hummer and other markets have joined, and people laughed and said: Liuhua Business Circle seems to have become "Happy Valley."

From the "black rubber era" to the "fashion benchmark"

In 1998, the Liuhua International Fashion Festival, hosted by Yuexiu District and sponsored by Liuhua Chamber of Commerce, was the first large-scale fashion festival in China. It was the first time to show the “Flower Flower Clothing Business Circle” sign to the national merchants.

The train brought the wholesalers from all over the country to Guangzhou and took them to the Liuhua business district. Every day, there were a large number of merchants who were observing the goods in front of the wholesale city.

Wu Huaying, an "active activist" who once worked at Baima, witnessed this grand occasion. The Hangzhou woman was only 22 years old at the time, and she likes to be dressed in black, because she feels that she can be more mature and capable to hide her "weakness" in her age.

Early in the morning, Wu Huaying simply went to the door and simply went out, but no matter how early she arrived, there were always people waiting in line. The people who opened the door under the bridge at that time were the most vivid historical portrayal of the Liuhua business circle.

As soon as the gates of the mall opened, the battle began. Wu Huaying must run every time every floor of the building, see the style of the favorite, after a few words and two words, send a "little brother" to keep the goods in the stalls, and then immediately sent to Hangzhou for sales.

"At that time, everyone said that if you get the goods, you will get the money." Wu Huaying recalled the scene at the time and still remembered it: "The flow of flowers at that time was a myth of wealth every day."

In the past, the white horse market gathered together, goods such as rotation, black tape plus trolley is the standard of the purchaser.

"In the past, Baima's policy of "water and fish farming" and the militarized management system attracted a large number of high-quality merchants to settle in. With Caesar, brother, Gloria, and Qi Qi, Duo Yi, and other brands, they all absorb nutrients in White Horse. Become the benchmark brand for Chinese fashion in the future."

Chen Baohong, secretary general of Guangzhou Baima Clothing Chamber of Commerce, said: "I went through the apron on the 5th and saw a row of five shops, all of which were brands that came out of White Horse. The brand's glory is also the pride of White Horse."

As the green leather train was gradually replaced by the high-speed rail, the black tape and trolleys were replaced by Internet e-commerce, and the former Liuhua business circle was undergoing continuous upgrading. The hardware decoration of the mall is being upgraded, the shopping environment has become more exquisite and tidy... The brand design and display are constantly upgrading, and more original designs are rooted here to run their own future.

At seven o'clock in the afternoon, the shopping malls have been on duty. Huajie counted the accounts of the day and walked into the tunnel of Guangzhou Railway Station again to take the subway home. Hua Jie said: "This tunnel has not changed much in the past few years, but many people who have been on this road have undergone tremendous changes."

Source: Interface Guangdong
Text / Deng Xiao