What is the development of sedan chair industry in old Beijing?

At the end of the Qing Dynasty and the beginning of the Republic of China, the leasing business in the western suburbs of Beijing was very prosperous. At that time, there were also a large number of sedan shops, including more than 20 shops in Jinbian.

However, hi car shops are scattered, generally have their own business scope, and the competition between the same industry will not be too fierce.

At that time, there were not only wealthy Wang Fu families, but also many rich gentry and businessmen in the inner city, and the economic conditions were good. Therefore, there are many limousine shops in the inner city, and the business is very prosperous.

The famous flower shops in Beijing are Xingtai Flower Shop, Penglai Flower Shop and Fuhe Flower Shop. They are large-scale, well-funded and well-equipped shops.

Second-rate sedan-chair shops can generally cater to the weddings of Manchu and Han people. Etiquette supplies are relatively complete, and people are relatively neat. For example, Decheng Hi-Car Store, located in the vineyard at the entrance of Xicheng Palace, is a famous Hi-Car store in Xicheng area.

The business of car shops tends to be concentrated. In the past, people had to choose a good day for happy events, that is, auspicious days of the zodiac, and there were only a few good days for marriage in a year.

Therefore, business is usually poor, but once there is an auspicious day, there will be several booths, or even a dozen booths, all of which require the use of sedan chairs and deacons at the same time, and the sedan chair shop will be busy inside and outside.

There are many businesses, but due to lack of equipment and personnel, we can only give up some. As the saying goes, a trumpeter is born when he is poor, and he is afraid of being heavy when he is poor.

Based on this situation, Xi Jiaofang divided Xi Jiaofang and deacons into morning group and afternoon group. The price of the morning group was higher and the price of the afternoon group was lower.

However, according to traditional customs, there are so-called auspicious restrictions for newcomers to get on and off the sedan chair. Rich families absolutely don't need afternoon sedan chairs, and only those poor families can barely use them.

There is no need to promote the business of the corner shop. For them, they should go out every time, especially the big ones, and they can build a brand for their own shops.

If you meet in the street at work, the two sides must compete with each other, which is also called sharing.

They deliberately let onlookers comment on whose sedan chair and umbrella are exquisitely embroidered and whose sedan chair armour is neat, neatly dressed and in step.

On this occasion, both sides will show their housekeeping skills, and they will honk their horns carefully. Car A's are full of energy, with one hand thrust into the waist, chest thrust forward, small steps, and the same pace, revealing a handsome force. When one side candidly admit defeat, in order not to delay the auspicious time, the other side will move forward quickly.

In the hi-sedan industry, in addition to some hi-sedan shops with gold plaques, there are also some fly-to-shops, but there are no gold plaques, and individuals privately contract out shops that rent hi-sedan chairs, deacons, sedan chairs and drummers.

The price of this Feilai is cheaper than that of the shop. But they may not be able to do the work they should go out, because the number is small and sometimes not enough, so they find some amateurs to take the lead. This will naturally break people's trust. In addition, their clothes, shoes and hats are not uniform, and they walk in disorder. Therefore, it is totally unnecessary for gentry, businessmen and rich people to fly to attend the wedding.

Twenty years after the Republic of China (193 1), due to the influence of the new wave, civilized weddings gradually increased. Xi's sedan chair shop business is naturally getting worse every day, and it will naturally die in the end.