PARTNERS IN TRADE:Traders Wang Lei and Foxx end a hard day's trading on their bikes (PHOTO BY CHRISTIAN O'BRIEN)

As the sun rises over the Beijing Zoo area, many would be mistaken in thinking that the animals will be the only ones reacting to the change of light. While most Beijing residents are still asleep, an entire workforce is already on the go, seven days a week. These people have become a vital part of China's economic boom, the clothing traders.

As shopping can be a daunting experience in this city of a million clothing stores, the online generation have taken to using technological innovation as their tool in getting the clothes that they need. Being aware of this trend many traders have now turned to the online shopping site Taobao.com to sell their wares. 

Early start

Li Dong, Foxx (a nickname) and Guo Po are three clothing traders who run their online operations from their shared apartment in the Changchunjie area of southwest Beijing. They are part of the 6.5 million people who have migrated from provinces to start businesses in the capital city.

Foxx, 26, and Guo, 17, are two traders who decided that Beijing had more of fervor for entrepreneurship than their hometown of Wuhan, Hubei Province. Having originally operated a clothing shop in their district of Hankou, they later opened an online website with Taobao and settled in the capital four months ago. Their domain, LilFoxx, caters to the growing urban clothing scene in China, specializing in hip-hop apparel and accessories.

The traders' day starts with rising early in the morning and checking their stocks via an online database. As they have to deal with hundreds of customers with endless demands, they spend up to six hours communicating with them nonstop, and manage to process each payment using the innovative electronic payment system, Alipay.

Market life

At 2 p.m. the Internet operations close for the day and the three traders begin the daunting task of descending onto one of the largest shopping districts in China, Beijing Zoo trading area.  

"The second stage of our day is going to the Beijing Zoo shopping areas each afternoon to pick the goods that meet the demands of the customers and send them by express mail," explained Guo to ChinAfrica as he traveled by bus to collect the goods.

"The after sale service is also important. When buyers receive the goods, they will give their evaluation of the goods and our service. Their evaluation is crucial to our shop's reputation. The better reputation you have, the more buyers you will have," he added.

The massive under- and overground shopping markets are heaving with thousands of people each day all looking for clothing at cheap wholesale prices.

As people pushed their way into Julong, one of China's largest underground markets, they were suddenly overcome by the lack of air. However, the traders look unperturbed by the heat, as they were busy in discussion with the storeowners over the purchase of the latest trendy clothing.

All three traders come equipped with bags full of invoices from buyers, stating which items of clothes are needed and the address of the buyers. With this being a daily procedure, the traders have built a rapport with the storeowners, who like them are young migrants from surrounding provinces.