Golden Apple Market--the "Taobao Market" of old Changsha people in the past

Original Xiaole Happy Changsha

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#Changsha 2 contents

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#Food, clothing, housing and transportation 1 content

#Golden Apple Market 1 content

In a city, what is most closely connected with people's lives is nothing more than the four aspects of "food, clothing, housing and transportation". In the past, there was a place in Changsha that played an important role in people's shopping and dressing. It was the Golden Apple Market.

In Xiaole's childhood memories, there must be a period when he followed adults during festivals, buying New Year's goods and buying new clothes for the upcoming New Year in the noisy and crowded crowd.

Or follow my mother and visit all the women's clothing stores. At that time, I felt that my mother would never seem to get tired of shopping, and she could always find women's clothing "strongholds" hidden in the streets and alleys. I followed my mother and listened to her making her own "comments" on each store; I listened to her bargaining with the clothing store owner, learning from each other, and secretly learning a trick myself ~

Although I am very tired, I am still very happy. This is Xiaole's first understanding of "shopping" when she was a child.

At that time, shopping malls were not as crowded as they are now, with a dazzling array of high-end products and a comfortable environment. If you want to find the most authentic and good things at the right price, you can only go to small shops and explore house by house.

The Golden Apple Market at that time was such a place ~

The golden apple market at that time

The Golden Apple Market, which opened in 1994, was originally called: Changsha City Golden Apple Clothing and Shoes Wholesale Market. It is a comprehensive and large-scale professional market.

Everyone born in Changsha in the 1980s should be familiar with it. They must have the memory of following their parents and choosing to shop in the Golden Apple Market.

At its peak, there were about 3000 stores in the Golden Apple Market, with an annual transaction volume reaching 600 million yuan, which carried the shopping needs of almost the entire people of Changsha City.

Don't mention, at that time, any young Changsha girl who didn't go to the Golden Apple to buy something was too embarrassed to call herself fashionable ~

But the times are developing rapidly, and some things have been preserved by time, while some seem to be silently obliterated.

Today, Xiaole also wanted to come and see what happened to the golden apple that was once popular at that time?

Today's Golden Apple Market

Take Line 3 and get off at Chaoyang Xincun Station. After walking for about five minutes, you will reach the south gate of the Golden Apple Market. The Golden Apple Market Building, the most prosperous business at that time and the oldest now, is here.

Nanzheng Street divides the market into left and right sides. On the left is the market building, and on the right is the boutique women's clothing street.

Boutique women's clothing street specializes in light luxury women's clothing. The decoration is exquisite and modern, the aesthetics are more in line with the present, and the price will be correspondingly higher.

There are not many people coming and going to choose clothes for fitting.

Crossing South Street, you reach the building of the Golden Apple Mall. Entering through the side door, you can't help but feel a little dilapidated and rudimentary.

The building has three floors in total, and the first floor is mainly engaged in footwear industry.

Walking into the mall, I felt a clear contrast to the decoration on East Street next door. The lights in the mall are dimly lit, there are almost no customers to choose from in the shoe area, and the bosses are all sitting and playing with their mobile phones in low spirits.

The owner of the shoe store told us that business was particularly bleak after the epidemic. Many stores either failed to manage well and closed down or closed down.

The main area on the first floor is the women's clothing area. Walking from the first floor to the first floor, I obviously felt that the traffic was increasing. After noon, customers scattered in twos and threes, and some bosses were too busy to eat.

Women's clothing's facade is more densely distributed, and at a glance, it is impossible to tell who belongs to which house.

Most of the merchants are very friendly. They told Xiaole that most of the merchants here are old merchants who have settled in in 1997. Everyone complains that when the new model of online shopping emerged, the business of physical stores became worse than before. Especially after the epidemic hit, there are fewer and fewer customers.

But when Xiaole asked if she had ever thought of leaving, most people replied: No. Because I don't know what I can do if I leave, this is a way to support my family.

Women's clothing stores are dense

Although there are many stores for women's clothing, if you look carefully, you can still find different types and styles. What is even more surprising is that the customers who come here are not the only older aunties we imagined.

There are also young girls, some with their mothers taking two people, and some with friends.

Young customer Xiao Chen told us that he enjoyed the feeling of having time to shop and choose with his family and friends.

The second floor of the mall is for children's products. From supplies for 0-year-old babies to supplies for 12-year-old preschool children, school supplies, toys, etc., everything is available.

Young couples are shopping for baby products

On the third floor of the mall is bedding and a comprehensive wholesale mall. We also saw wigs, slippers and other goods here.

The entrances and exits of the mall are complex and still retain the original layout, like a maze. If you are not careful, you will go to different places. This is also what makes people feel that the planning of the mall is unreasonable.

Intricacies of mall stairs

It's really easy to dazzle people who are here for the first time. There is no clear plan for the functional zoning here, and all kinds of goods are only something you can't imagine and cannot find here.

For people who do not have direct purchase goals, this place is indeed like a "Taobao place". You can spend the day here, go around, and you will find unexpected products.

various commodities

Has the golden apple really been forgotten by everyone?

Before coming here, Xiao Le was uncertain about this answer.

But after coming here, Xiaole's answer was yes: it has not been forgotten by everyone, nor has it disappeared with the torrent of time.

The rise of online shopping has certainly taken away a large part of offline traffic, but while some people are addicted to online shopping, there are still some people who choose offline shopping due to different needs.

Just like the owner of the merchant said to Xiaole: Many old people in Changsha cannot learn to buy online, so they can only shop offline; there are also some young people who pursue cheap prices and like to try clothes online, and only buy them when they are suitable.

Just like following my parents when I was a child, the joy that offline shopping brings to parents, children and friends, and the face-to-face emotional maintenance and communication between people cannot be replaced by online shopping. That memory has been with us until now.

In the future, perhaps seeking a new development method or finding a new path is something that the Golden Apple can explore and explore.

But we know that in people's hearts, it will never disappear.

This is Happy Changsha, taking you closer to different humanistic memories.