Nighttime consumption at Shida Night Market in Harbin has been on the rise during summer holidays, as the city continues to drive economic growth with what it calls the "nighttime economy."

Shida Night market, located on Wenxin Street in Nangang district, is a long corridor extending over 400 meters that contains a huge variety of over 300 stands. It remains lively deep into the night. 

The night market got its name from the nearby Harbin Normal University. It has been thriving for a long time due to a large inflow of students. However, it did not gain popularity as a destination for tourists until it developed a reasonable layout, a clean environment, and good management.

The night market has changed a lot since 2014, when the government introduced a company to manage the area and monitor the quality of services.

“The corridor has been widened and the night market is well organized,” said Li Yue, a student at Harbin Normal University.

The night market is developing rapidly and is popular among people in their 20s and 30s.

It had an average daily flow of less than 1,000 people in 2014. By 2017, the average daily flow had reached more than 4,000.

Currently, the average daily flow is from 8,000 to 10,000, said Zhu Hongsuo, manager of Harbin Shida Investment Co Ltd, the company that manages the market.

People stroll through the Shida Night Market in Nangang district, Harbin, Heilongjiang province. [Photo/Xinhua]