Part of the Silk Market has recently completed a 10-million-yuan renovation project. ZOU HONG / CHINA DAILY

Beijing's Silk Street market, a popular shopping destination for international tourists, will reopen fully on Friday following a five-day renovation period that aimed to drive out fake goods.

A total of 414 stalls have undergone renovation, equating to about one third of all the stalls. The market operator, Beijing Silk Street Company, invested about 10 million yuan in the work, most of which was used for decoration and lease return.

The renovation began on March 14 and concluded on Thursday. To compensate trader losses during the five days, market operators intend to return lease charges to vendors of approximately 1,000 yuan per stall, based on the monthly rent.

The market embarked on the renovation project this March since most stallholder lease contracts are up for renewal on Friday. The renovation work doubles the floor space of only half the number of stalls, with the remaining stalls asked to vacate.

"The stalls on this floor have been cut down by half, leaving 30 now. We drew lots to decide who would go and who could stay. It was kind of cruel but we had no choice," said a vendor selling suitcases on the first basement of the market. 
                                                                                                   Source: China Daily