by Liu Qiyu

 

The annual fair gathers many customers. [Photo/Liu Qiyu]

 

BEIJING, Feb. 5 (China Economic Net) - “8,000 yuan? OK I’ll take one!” A Pakistani bronze deer sculpture worth ? 8,000 ($1,112) was favored by a Chinese customer and he could hardly wait scanning the QR code to pay.

 

These glittering bronze sculptures from Pakistan, along with other goods from home and abroad, wowed visitors attending the 28th Beijing Traditional New Year Fair held in Beijing recently.

 

A Chinese customer scans the QR code to pay for honey from New Zealand. [Photo/Liu Qiyu]

 

As per the organizer, this year's fair covers an area of more than 10,000 square meters, gathering a total of more than 500 merchants. “[Spring Festival is the] Biggest occasion of the Chinese Lunar Calendar. It’s also a good opportunity for merchants to make a profit,” noted a stallholder from New Zealand.

 

This time the annual fair served as a platform for showcasing goods from across the globe, including Pakistani jade, wood carvings, bronze carvings, Mongolian cashmere products, Russian chocolate, Australian cereal, Ethiopian cowhide handbags, Indonesian Kopi Luwak, Malaysian durian...

 

Muhammad Abid is a Pakistani merchant based in Beijing, China. [Photo/Liu Qiyu]

 

Muhammad Abid, who owns the Pakistan booth, has spent four years in China doing business. In fluent Chinese he methodically showcased his customers Made-in-Pakistan handicrafts. “The business is good so far,” he told China Economic Net, adding that for the Spring Festival everybody in China likes to keep good and attractive items at home so the exotic goods he brought here are popular.

 

As the Spring Festival approaches, the Chinese usually conduct special purchases for it. Known for its bustling atmosphere, the fair draws crowds eager to explore and purchase items for the upcoming festival, showing the regained vitality of the consumer market in China.