(By Li Lizhi)

In Guangzhou, there is a special group of people who are white collars during the day and street vendors at night. They participate in the identity change in order to accumulate experience in running their own business.

These people have even set up their own unions including, the “Holiday Business Union”, “Street Business Union” and “Street Vending Union”. They share their experiences on BBS, ICQ and MSN.

Take “Guangzhou Street Business Union” in Baiyun District as an example. In general, most of the members range from 20 to 35 year olds and females slightly outnumber males. Over 90% of them have a so-called full-time job; some are college students.

One guy stated that, it was not easy to change identity from a white collar to a street vendor but that this was a must to get products at low prices and be persuasive. In addition, position is crucial. It’s better to be near the local evening markets with sufficient light.

There are a few places that are well-known among these people, such as Dongpu, Tangxia and Shangshe in the city.

However, these people all realize that this can’t be a life long career. Many just want to get some experience so as to start their own business in the future.