Luoyang's Newest Hit Check-In Spot! Memories of the Previous Generation, Once Henan's Premier Street
Recently, among Luoyang's many hidden gem attractions, another potential hit has emerged. This place holds memories for the previous generation of Luoyang residents—visiting Guangzhou Market and Shanghai Market in Jianxi District. The Guangzhou Market Department Store, Guangzhou Restaurant, Guangzhou Barbershop, etc., were once the "hot check-in spots" for people visiting Guangzhou Market, even though the term didn't exist back then.
In the eyes of many old-time Luoyang locals, the heart of Guangzhou Market is the Guangzhou Market Department Store (abbreviated as Guangbai Building). According to relevant records, the predecessor of Guangbai Building was the Guangzhou Market Department Store, which opened for business on December 31, 1956—older than many people.
The Guangzhou Market Sales Department, i.e., Guangbai Building, was originally a single-story building with a wide variety of goods, including daily necessities, shoes and hats, clothing, knitwear, fabrics, hardware and electrical appliances, stationery, and non-staple foods—a comprehensive selection. Besides residents of the surrounding Jianxi District, people from other counties and districts, as well as tourists visiting Luoyang, were frequent customers.
Later, after the socialist economic system reform and the development of Luoyang's industry and tourism, Guangbai Building was officially expanded. In addition to the original merchandise, it added a home appliance repair center, a computer center, and a Grand Rich Entertainment City, including a luxury dance hall and karaoke rooms, making it a popular spot for entertainment, leisure, and shopping for Luoyang citizens.
Widely welcomed by the public, Guangbai Building's sales revenue grew year after year. In 1993, sales broke 100 million yuan, with tax and profit payments of 4.7 million yuan, setting the highest historical record among all major stores in Luoyang at that time. Back then, Shanghai Market Department Store, Guangzhou Market Department Store, Luoyang Department Store, and Old City Mall were the city's four major commercial hubs.
In fact, the birth of these commercial districts and the origins of their names have their own historical backgrounds. According to the "Jianxi District Annals of Luoyang," during the First Five-Year Plan period, large industrial projects such as the First Tractor Factory, Luoyang Bearing Factory, Luoyang Mining Machinery Factory, and Luoyang Copper Processing Factory were successively established in Jianxi District. In response to the national call, over 100,000 builders from all over the country rushed to Luoyang, sparking a construction boom in Jianxi District.
Thus, there were over 100,000 construction workers from all over the country filled with soaring enthusiasm. At that time, Luoyang's urban population was only 60,000, meaning the migrant population outnumbered the local one. Today, roads like Qingdao Road in Luoyang were named after the gathering places of people from various regions back then. According to the leading cadres at the time, such naming could make the newcomers "feel warm at heart, as if at home."
It's easy to see that Guangzhou Market once reflected Luoyang's friendliness and hospitality toward outsiders. In the recent renovation and upgrade of Guangzhou Market, this sense of belonging and the cultural connotation of "Isn't it a pleasure to have friends coming from afar?" can still be seen. Today, Guangzhou Market is returning to Luoyang with a new look—"Guangzhou Street, Republic of China style."
Notably, Guangzhou Market Pedestrian Street has also collaborated with Alibaba's subsidiary companies and local financial institutions to build an intelligent management system, providing services such as integrated payment, fund collection, GDP data statistics and upload, product quality traceability, online delivery, online water and electricity control, data query, and operation monitoring. This makes it Henan's first "smart featured commercial street."
