Information about the business skills of Shanxi merchants in Qing Dynasty?

Seeing that Mr. Kuang Haiyan was talking about the decline of Shanxi merchants, he rearranged this post published in the History of Wine Cooking and posted it, explaining the success or failure of Shanxi merchants from some historical facts and figures.

But for the success or failure of Shanxi merchants, I have the following points to express here first:

First, the early Shanxi merchants helped Manchu to win the world, with obvious political attributes.

Second, Shanxi merchants accumulated capital because of their trade with Mongolia and Russia.

Thirdly, after Jiaqing, Shanxi merchants gradually got rid of the influence of imperial merchants, but the status of official merchants still existed, which can be seen from the distribution rights and ticket printing rights of more than 40 banners of Dashengkui in Cobuduo grassland.

Fourthly, the impact of foreign businessmen, especially Russian businessmen, on Shanxi businessmen is one of the main reasons for their decline, because it is inevitable for Shanxi businessmen to lose their backyard, which is the source of profits.

Fifth, Shanxi merchants were too attached to all levels of the Manchu regime, just like Hu Xueyan was right and left. With the collapse of the credit of the Manchu regime, the collapse of Shanxi merchants is inevitable.

Sixth, there is no innovation in business management, and it still operates on the traditional equity and business model, which is the internal failure of Shanxi merchants.

Seventh, commercial profits are mostly used to build big houses and repair ancestral graves, without opening up new market areas and being short-sighted.

Eighth, others and so on

Zhangjiakou is the most concentrated place of Shanxi merchants except Shanxi, and it can also be said that it is the most concentrated base camp of Shanxi merchants in other cities. The history of Zhangjiakou also covers the history of Shanxi merchants, so this paper takes Zhangjiakou as an example to talk about the success or failure of Shanxi merchants.

Chahar originated in Ming Dynasty and flourished in Qing Dynasty. Without Chahar aborigines, it is difficult to tell which ethnic group is Chahar aborigines. From the political point of view, Chahar's prosperity benefited from the national differentiation policy of the Qing Dynasty, which was generally good in the first and middle period of the Qing Dynasty. The Mongolian area north of the Great Wall has largely maintained the grassland ecology and Mongolian nomadic society. This policy needs not to abandon economic exchanges between ethnic groups. Commodity exchange has always been the main economic form in this area. Large-scale construction began in the Ming Dynasty and could not be cut off in the Qing Dynasty. On the one hand, the Qing government restricted the Han people to open up wasteland in Chahar, but at the same time, it could not completely restrict the trade between Han people and Mongols. Therefore, the most famous "foreign gangs" in Shanxi Province are composed of this gap. Chahar's pan-Shanxi culture was initiated by Shanxi businessmen and promoted by Shanxi immigrants. In fact, the whole Monan area around the Pan-Great Wall from the east of Qilian Mountain to the west of Beijing is a Pan-Shanxi area. Shanxi people have a very long history in Chahar, but it was in the 200 years of Qing Dynasty that the far-reaching influence finally led to the Shanxi culture in Chahar. For Shanxi, for the history of Shanxi, I have always described my inner Shanxi with a kind of reverence and love. Although I can't verify whether my ethnic origin also comes from Dahuaishu Village, I know that the so-called history and integration of the Chinese nation have led to many catchy idioms because of Shanxi. The history of Shanxi can deconstruct the ancient history of the whole Chinese nation. Because of the geographical relationship, Shanxi people have the responsibility to rebuild the history of Chahar.

Zhangjiakou, once synonymous with Chahar, was called Karian by the British, which means wharf. The wharf is not because foreigners saw a river in Zhangjiakou, but it was a seasonal river as early as the Yellow Emperor's time, so it was impossible to sail. This dock means that because of trade, the dock has always been a living place where people and things shuttle, so this dock is a trade dock and is called a dry dock by local historians.

The dry dock is undoubtedly controlled by Shanxi people. The history of this regulation can be traced back to the Ma market in Zhangjiakou in the Ming Dynasty. The so-called horse market is not only used to trade livestock, but also a large market that is opened regularly. Businessmen attach great importance to profits, which may be disgraceful to Shanxi businessmen who are famous all over the world after the demise of the Ming Dynasty. If there were no material support from Shanxi merchants after entering the customs, the Manchu would at least not want to unify the world so soon. It is always convenient to earn war money, and it is also a good opportunity to accumulate capital as soon as possible. Shanxi people seized this opportunity, and there were many Shanxi people in the team that Manchuria swept the world. They formed the logistics force of Manchuria fighters, and in this logistics force, they formed the eight imperial merchants in Shanxi, which became famous all over the world. They controlled most of the trade with the Manchurian army and most of Chahar, that is, Zhangjiakou and Mongolia.

Eight Masters of Shanxi Merchants Manipulated Zhangjiakou's Trade Activities. The Eight Masters are Wang Dengku, Jin Liangyu, Wang Dayu, Liang Jiabin, Tian Shenglan, Zhai Ying, Huang Yunlong and Fan, among whom Fan is the most famous.

According to the current nationalists, Fan and other eight wealthy businessmen are veritable traitors. Long before the Manchu entered the customs, they often traveled to and from the customs. At the juncture of increasingly corrupt politics and social unrest in the Ming Dynasty, businessmen's unique sensitive sense of smell made them see the rise and ambition of Manchu, so they secretly transported military supplies to Manchu, provided all kinds of information in the customs, and started political business outside normal trade. After the Qing Dynasty entered the customs, the emperor shunzhi did not forget the eight famous people who made great achievements for themselves in the Central Plains, gave a banquet in the Forbidden City, personally summoned them and gave them costumes. At the banquet, Shunzhi wanted to give them official titles, and eight people were flattered and refused. As a result, Shunzhi named them "Yushang" (a native of the Ministry of Internal Affairs). Fan Ming is in charge of business affairs, "based on Zhangjiakou". The other seven have also been raised. From then on. Fan and others gained political and economic privileges that other businessmen could not enjoy. Fan not only bought goods for the royal family, but also made a lot of money by virtue of imperial power. In addition to operating the salt industry in Hedong and Luchang, he also monopolized the markets of precious medicinal materials such as ginseng in Wusuli and Suifenhe in Northeast China, so he was called a "participant" by the people. In a blink of an eye, Fan has become a big imperial merchant with tens of millions of wealth, and he is a leader among the eight great masters. From this, we can see how imperial merchants made a fortune. However, the immorality of imperial merchants at that time did not represent all Shanxi merchants. By the late Kangxi period, most of the original imperial merchants had declined, and the new generation of Shanxi merchants were no longer speculators who made war money by virtue of diligence, foresight and trustworthiness.

For the trade of Shanxi merchants in Mongolia, we have to mention such a person, who is the most legendary figure in the history of China's foreign trade. The legend about him remains in the legend about Zhangjiakou. He is not a "traitor and emperor businessman", but a German businessman who really made a fortune with diligence, vision and management skills. When it comes to the foreign trade history of Chahar or Zhangjiakou, we have to say that Yuci in Jinzhong is a Chang clan.

Shanxi merchants, who are well-known at home and abroad, have three dazzling "bright spots" in the glorious history of dominating the Ming and Qing business circles for 500 years, that is, salt industry, tea industry and bank number. Since the Ming and Qing Dynasties, the transportation and marketing of Mongolian and Russian tea was almost monopolized by Shanxi merchants, forming an international trade route from the south of China to the hinterland of Europe-"Tea Road", comparable to the "Silk Road". On this Wanli Tea Ceremony, there is a prominent Shanxi merchant family that can be called the mainstay, that is, the Chang family in Yuci, which was called "a foreign trade family" by Shanxi Foreign Trade News. About 500 years ago, during the Hongzhi period of the Ming Dynasty, the ancestors of the Chang family often came to the village alone. There is no room and no land, so we can only make a living by herding sheep for the big family Liu. Later, he married Liu's handmaid, gave birth to a child and settled in the garage. Because of this restless spirit, Chang has left an example for future generations to dare to be the first in the world and seek the benefits of the world. Often born in a poor family. He is fearless and hard-working, setting an example of frugality for future generations. After the prosperity of Chang's family business, Chang's sheep whips, sheep shovels and other tools for herding sheep were consecrated by later generations and enshrined in the ancestral hall. The world-famous richest man in Shanxi and the first Confucian businessman in China in Qing Dynasty started from this sheep whip. It's a fairy tale. However, history made Badger Na Joe fly back to the south, which was a good thing to bear. Before br> IV, the life of the Chang family was still relatively difficult, but they finally took root in the village's housing land and lived a life of men plowing and women weaving. It used to be a physical surname. After moving here, it was once rejected by local villagers. For example, villagers often make things difficult for the three brothers when they irrigate and fetch water. So three people hence Qi Xin looked at the well together in the yard. Because this is the earliest house of the Chang family in Chewangchuan, later generations set up a plaque as "Hall". The Zhang family became rich. During the reign of Kangxi in the early Qing Dynasty, the reason for the rise of the Chang family was commerce. According to the records in the fundraising monument, its business premises are Datong, Fan Shi, Duolun Noor, Zhangjiakou, Xinghua Town, Suzhou and other places. This point is also clearly recorded in Family Ride. Although it may be somewhat inaccurate to identify Chang Wei as the first merchant of the Chang family, there is no doubt that he was an extremely important figure among Shanxi merchants in the Qing Dynasty, and monopolized China's tea market in Mongolia and Mongolia for Shanxi merchants, and expanded to almost the whole of Europe, accumulating great power. It can also be said that Chang Jia developed into the first epoch-making Confucian businessman in Qing Dynasty. Chang Wei was born in about twenty years of Kangxi, the eldest son of Chang Jin. Kangxi went to Zhangjiakou for business about forty years. According to records, he traveled back and forth between Zhangjiakou and his hometown for many years, without the capital of Sichuan, and all the accommodation and meals along the way were solved by himself. Although this shows the thrifty nature of Chang Wei, it also reflects that Chang Jinquan and Chang Wei were not really rich among their kin at that time. With perseverance, honest quality and hard-working spirit, in the early years of Yongzheng, Chang Wei had developed from a "businessman" to a "businessman" who opened a small shop but did not have much business. This kind of pavement doesn't even have a formal name in Zhangjiakou, so it's called "long paving". His three sons, Wan Gui, Wang Wan and Wanda, all went to Zhangjiakou with their father. Apart from Wang Wan buying land and farming in the suburbs of Zhangjiakou, Wan Gui and Wanda became his father's right-hand men in business. With the joint efforts of father and son, after more than ten years' struggle, Zhang's career in Zhangjiakou has developed rapidly. Chang Wei started his business until he was successful in his studies. After Chang Wanzai and Chang Wanda also read many poems, his son, especially Chang Wanda, followed his father's footsteps and studied with his father in Zhangjiakou since childhood. He is diligent and studious, and is highly praised by his teachers. However, Chang Wei resigned from his post when he was about to participate in scientific research, and took "learning to be excellent is good" as a family motto, warning his son to follow it from generation to generation. Chang Wei's foresight laid the foundation of Chang's Confucian merchant family, and he was outstanding in business reputation and management. The management level of Dadeyu can be seen from the account book category and management regulations of Dadeyu. The master plan of applying what he has learned will make his career stronger and bigger soon. In the early years of Qianlong, Chang Wei and his son established the two major brands of Dadechang and Dadeyu in Zhangjiakou. Before returning to his hometown for retirement, Chang Wei gave the names of the two stores to his eldest son Chang and his third son Chang Wanda for management. So that Chang Jia gradually formed a Chang Wanpan, and his son Huai Xie and Huai Xie; Chang Wanda and his son are centered on two enterprise groups: Huai Jun and Huai Pei. These two groups refer to each other and jointly develop into an important business in Zhangjiakou. Zhang Wanwen is concerned about taking Zhangjiakou as the base camp and extending to cities of all sizes in the country. At the same time, Zhang Wanda has a broader vision. He resolutely adopted the strategy of developing to Russia and Mongolia and engaging in international trade. Russia has a great demand for tea. Since the Ming dynasty, trade requirements have been put forward continuously. In the fifth year of Yongzheng, the Qing government and Russia finally signed the Sino-Russian Chaktu Treaty. In the eighth year of Yongzheng, the construction of China-Russia border trade city-Chaktu was started. However, due to various reasons, the trade between the two sides was not smooth at first. After more than ten years, the trade volume was only100000 rubles. However, Changwangda is in trouble. Ten years after Qianlong, Dadeyu was definitely changed into a tea house, and at the same time, the main financial resources, energy and resources were invested in trade with Russia, and the exploration of Wanli Tea Road lasted for more than 200 years. If Chang Wei, who founded Jia Jiaxun with outstanding knowledge, is an epoch-making figure in the history of Chang family development, then Chang Wanda, who opened up Wanli Tea Road, is a milestone in the history of Chang family development.

Tea trade is the beginning of a hard work set by Chang Wanda, and it is a blow full of hardships and wisdom. In order to ensure product quality and pay attention to quality and reputation, Changjia took the lead in adopting a "one-stop" way of tea purchase, processing and trafficking among Shanxi merchants. That is, buy tea mountain in Wuyishan, Fujian Province, organize tea production, and set up a village in Xiamei Town, Chong 'an County, Fujian Province to purchase tea. At the same time, we will set up our own tea house and library, and refine loose tea into black tea and brick tea for proper collection. Thousands of local craftsmen are employed every year during the tea period, and then transported to the estuary (now Qianshan County, Jiangxi Province) by horses and chariots, and then shipped to Hankou, along the Hanshui River, to Xiangfan, to Tanghe, and to Sheqi Town, Henan Province (now Sheqi County, which was called Shilidian by Shanxi merchants at that time). ) Then it will be carried northward, cross the Yellow River via Luoyang, cross Taihang Mountain, pass Jincheng and Changzhi, and go out to Zihongkou, Qixian County. Then it was changed to an animal-drawn cart in Lucun, then from Taiyuan and Datong to Zhangjiakou or naturalization, and then changed to Cullen and Chakutu. The whole journey is nearly seven thousand miles. Because camel transportation is safer, faster and cheaper than horse-drawn carts, each camel can weigh more than 400 kilograms. Therefore, Chang's family soon set up their own camel team, which is no less than that of Wan Yufeng. Camels also extend from Zhangjiakou to Chaktu in the past to Shanxi, and from the Yellow River to Moscow, Russia and other places, and a characteristic industry "camel shop" has appeared along the way. This tea transportation route has become the "tea road" which is called as the same as the "Silk Road" by later generations. Because the vehicles on this road are characterized by camels, it is also called "Camel Road". In the process of camel transportation, they also explored many successful operation modes: they divided eighty camels into a group, five camels into a row, sixteen rows, one person in charge of a row, and eighteen people in a group, led by a team leader and a Mongolian guide, ensuring that they would not get lost under any circumstances and could find water and a camping place. In each gang, one or two other people who are familiar with pharmacology and medicine should be equipped with necessary drugs to ensure the safety of people and animals. At that time, Russian and Mongolian horse bandits were rampant, and this horse bandit roared. People rushed to the camel and bent down to sweep the silverware on the camel's saddle. Businessmen were armed to the teeth and hired bodyguards, but there was nothing they could do. The self-cast silver ingots that Chang Jia transported to the mainland from Chaktu weighed 65,438+0,000, each weighing 64 kilograms, and were transported by special wagons. The horse bandits came to grab it, but they couldn't take it away, so they had to abandon it. Everyone calls this big silver ingot "helpless". Later, all the businessmen learned the methods of the Zhang family and regarded them as "helplessness". The horse bandits faced "helplessness" precisely because of Zhang's foresight and strategy in trade with Russia and his great attention to his beliefs, he quickly gained the attention of Russian businessmen and the Russian government, and soon made his business in the north of Tu Tu, Russia, as well as Moscow, Dohms, Yelgutsk, Chita Krasnoyarsk. In this historical process, in order to meet the requirements of the development of the situation, the Chang family built Shengdayu in the sixth year of Daoguang (1826) and Daquanyu in the twentieth year of Daoguang (184 1). At the same time, accounting firms with various numbers are often added, and accounting firms are also set up all over Russia. It is precisely because of the unremitting efforts of Shanxi merchants represented by Changjia that China's trade volume with Russia has developed from more than 10,000 rubles in the sixth year of Yongzheng to 830,000 rubles in the twenty years of Qianlong. In 25 years, it soared to 654.38+0.35 million rubles. By the time Chang Wanda passed away in the early years of Jiaqing, Huai Yi, Huai Jun, Huai Pei and many grandchildren took over Chang Wanda's trade with Russia in his father's footsteps, the trade volume between China and Russia had reached more than 8 million rubles, reaching 1242 million in Daoguang 2 1 year, which increased by more than 1000 times in 80 years. Chang's family is the backbone of tea merchants and really contributes.

According to Shanxi Foreign Trade News, Russian businessmen owe Chang Jia Dasheng Jade, Daquan Jade and Du Shenyu 320,700 rubles for credit purchase. According to the History of Shanxi Bank, due to the suffocation of heavy taxes in Russia in the late Qing Dynasty, Chinese businessmen suffered great disasters, and the Chang family "Da Deyu" and their joint names "Da Meiyu", "Da" and "Du Shenyu" lost silver 1.4 million yuan in Moscow. Huang Jianhui, a professor at Shanxi University of Finance and Economics, listed the data of file cleaning in the article "A Preliminary Study of Accounting Bureau in Qing Dynasty", and found that five Russian businessmen owed 4 16000 rubles to Changjia Accounting Bureau, which is only a part of historical records. Often left a detailed account book. During the "four clean-ups" movement, it was found in a broken box in the village health clinic and burned as a "weather account". In terms of the financial resources of the Chang family at that time, the property lost to Russian businessmen will never stop at the above part. In order to recover some losses, the Chang family once sued the Russian government in conjunction with Shanxi merchants, but the Russian government simply ignored it. They returned to Beijing and asked the Qing government to be their master. The incompetent Qing government just shirked it. There is no way to complain, but it is difficult to complain. At the same time, the unreasonable troubles and extortion of Qing government officials also made the Chang family worse and suffered huge losses. For example, the young monk Wang, the son of the Mongolian prince, has borrowed more than one million taels of silver from the Chang family for many years. The monk king is a local tyrant in Mongolia, and the Chang family dare not buy his account. By the end of the Qing dynasty, the monk king had collapsed and the debt could not be collected. For another example, Lu Zhongqi wanted to be the governor of Shanxi, the richest province in the late Qing Dynasty, and borrowed 502,000 yuan from the Chang family to exercise military power. However, as soon as he took office in Shanxi, he met the Revolution of 1911, Shanxi New Army Uprising, and Lu Zhongqi and his son were killed in the governor's yamen. Although the Chang family has sent people to their hometown of Shangshan County, Zhejiang Province many times to collect accounts, where can they afford it? By the revolution of 1911, Chang's enterprises were basically bankrupt. As Chang Family Travel said: "With the prosperity of the Republic of China, all the port businessmen in my family lost money." Turbulence, imperialist invasion and government corruption and incompetence are the fundamental reasons for the decline of regular commerce.

The trade history of the Chang family is undoubtedly a microcosm of Zhangjiakou's trade history. After 1840, when most coastal cases were kept by foreigners, Zhangjiakou almost became the only trading port where taxes were collected independently by the Qing government. The Beijing-Zhangjiakou Railway is the last help for the Qing government to restore Zhangjiakou's foreign trade. In the following years, the trade tax from Zhangjiakou was almost the most important source in the last two years of the Qing Dynasty and the early years of the Republic of China.

Part of the bulk trade with Mongolia and Russia was monopolized by Shanxi people, and the other part was monopolized by the "Beijing Gang" composed of the Eight Banners princes and nobles. With abundant capital in their hands, they organized and purchased a large amount of materials in the southeast coastal areas of the Central Plains and gathered outside Dajingmen, Zhangjiakou. Their main sales destinations are Ulaanbaatar, Chaktu and Moscow. In particular, attending the annual Chaktu annual meeting (trade exchange meeting) has the highest profit. They are mainly engaged in the wholesale exchange and sporadic trading of bulk commodities.

These giants have their own permanent semicolons in Ulaanbaatar, Chaktu and Moscow. Camel teams or old horses have to complete the task even if they deliver the goods, and the specific trade is done by the staff of semicolon. At that time, driving a camel team or an old horse gang to run on the grass was called "dispatching". Camel team is called "warehouse", and each family has twelve camels, each with fourteen peaks. That is to say, each "warehouse" has 168 humped camels to carry goods, and each humped camel carries four or five hundred kilograms. The "House of Goods" is led by a small shopkeeper. Hired three or four bodyguards to guard it. Each family has more than 20 camel workers and men who manage camels along the way, looking for water to cook and doing odd jobs. For the sake of safety, each family is specially equipped with more than a dozen Mongolian dogs, which are tall, powerful and tacit, and are good helpers against wolves and bandits. Moreover, every time funds are allocated, most of the houses go hand in hand, and thousands of camels and horses gather into a vast caravan, crossing the vast plateau. Camel bells, neighing of horses, voices and barking of dogs echoed from beginning to end, stretching for dozens of miles. What a spectacular scene!

In addition to Shanxi Gang and Beijing Gang, there are also local businessmen and Zhili Gang engaged in trade in Zhangjiakou. They have few funds and many people, and often bring their own camels and used cars. Due to insufficient funds, there are not many goods. Neither camels nor old cars can form a large scale. Therefore, every time we set out, we must be in groups, and then separate after entering the sales and trading destination. They directly traded with Mongols and Russians in the form of going to Haute and stringing pastures. They generally know Mongolian and Russian. Make friends in long-term trade activities. Because the market of sales transaction is uncertain, the natural environment is more complicated and the tourism risk is greater. But one thing is certain, as far as the profit value of individual commodities is concerned, they are definitely not lower than the wholesale profit value of the giants at the annual meeting of Chaktu or Ulaanbaatar market. When it comes to profit, the transaction at that time was barter trade, but the proportion was quite different. A silver piece of jade can be exchanged for a horse and a sheep, a pack of raw cigarettes can be exchanged for a sheep, and ten pieces of brick tea can be exchanged for a cow. Of course, this profit contains infinite hardships and risks, and the degree of risk should be directly proportional to the profit rate.

Whether it is a giant or a small vendor, they are all tested by the harsh environment in the long ancient trade road. The altitude of Mongolian Plateau is over1500m, and the area from Ulaanbaatar southbound across tuul river to Saihantala today is a thousand miles Gobi. The Gobi desert is covered with yellow sand, and the grass is only a dozen centimeters high. There are no plants at all in some places. Leng Xia is hot in winter, and the vast Gobi is deserted. The biggest difficulty is that there is no water. The first task for the caravan to reach the rest place is to find water. By observing plants, we can know the depth of groundwater. Ma Lian and vinegar willow are shallow where they grow on the ground. Digging a well is called digging Shandan (transliteration of Mongolian well). If you dig a hole and get trapped for a period of time, clear water will seep out. When there is no water at the scene, send someone to ride dozens of miles to find water. Although caravans, large and small, are equipped with horses and people who specialize in finding water, sometimes they still need to be thirsty for days, especially when crossing the desert. Often there is no water source for six or seven days, the water level in the desert is low, and no water can be seen when digging wells. In order to survive, they have to drink horse urine and suck cow blood.

The food on the trip is prepared in advance. When I set out from Zhangjiakou, I brought millet, oatmeal, cold cakes, yam (potatoes) and pickles. When I came back from the grassland, I brought milk wine, fried rice, milk tofu and dried mutton. Every time I go to the rest place, the host is responsible for burying the pot and cooking. The fire source is obtained by striking flint with an iron sickle to ignite moxa, and the fuel is cow dung. Camel spines in the desert are also good fuel, which can be burned when cut down. Travelers call it "rescue".

The traveler's residence is always a tent made of coarse cloth, which can keep out the wind and snow in winter and the rainstorm in summer.

Bandits and wolves are the biggest hidden dangers of ancient trade routes. Caravans pull goods back and forth, and there is not much gold and silver. Bandits want a lot of goods, which is useless. Often, as long as a few items and horses are removed, it generally does not hurt businessmen. Some bandits want to kidnap the shopkeeper and let the motorcade redeem this person with silver when it returns.

The wolves on the grassland are extremely fierce and March in droves. Once attacked, caravan people and animals often suffer losses, but caravan dogs will play a great role at this time.

There is a lot of helplessness in the vast grass source. Sometimes people are ill and can be treated simply. The only emergency that cannot be treated is waiting for death. Buried on the spot after death, but it will soon be picked up and eaten by wolves and wild dogs.

Sometimes when a camel or cow with heavy load dies, people will reluctantly throw away the goods of the whole vehicle. Never increase the load of other livestock, otherwise more livestock will be exhausted.

The route and radiation range of Zhangku Avenue are roughly as follows: The general dams are Hannaoba, Wanquanba or Chongli Wujiazi. After crossing the dam, take Zhangbei (Xinghe), Dehua (Dehua), Sai Han (Gujiang, Dongxi Su Nite Banner), Erlian, Zamenude, Daolin, Ulaanbaatar, Chaktu and Moscow, which is the central line.

After arriving at Bashang, take Zhangbei and Taiqi, cross Hunshandake Desert, cross Phaeton Liangshan and Phaeton River, and then go deep into Caodi Beizi Temple (Ximeng) or Benerlian to join the middle road, or continue to cross the border to Joe Balsam via East and West Ujimqin, and some even go deep into Chita in Russia, which is the East Road.

Northwest Road starts from Zhangjiakou, passes through Zhangbei, Santaiba, Daqinggou, Shangdu and Zhuozi Mountain, and reaches Hohhot or Xinjiang to the west, or Wuliutai and Cobuduo to the north, and some of them turn to Kulun.

Some vendors have small motorcades, and they can complete sales transactions near Wu Dong and Xiwuqi.

Zhangku Avenue covers 12 Mongolian leagues and 150 flags, and its influence radiates to most parts of Russia's southern border, even to Moscow.

For the convenience of operation, giants headed by Dashengkui, Dadeyu, Yuanshengkui and Tianyide have also set up trade semicolons in Moscow, Chaktu, Irkutsk and Ulaanbaatar. According to relevant statistics, there were more than 400 foreign firms at that time, which is probably the embryonic form of chain marketing that is popular all over the world today.

Camel caravan transportation starts every autumn and returns in winter. Old motorcades usually leave in spring and return in autumn.

A small number of camels and used cars are owned by businessmen, but most of them are dedicated to transportation. For example, Tong's, Yang's, Wang's, Ding Shi's and Ma's among the Hui people in Zhangjiakou are large camel farmers, with 200 to 300 camels in general. Some camel farmers even raise forward camels. Today, the East Camel and the West Camel in qiaoxi district, Zhangjiakou are places for raising camels. If nothing else, just feeding camel grass piled several hills in succession, leaving today's grassland lane. In summer, camels graze on the grassland, which is called a release field. In autumn, I came back, ready to run on the grass to call the field. Camel farmers have worked hard and earned a lot of money. The mosque in Xinhua Street, qiaoxi district was built with donations from Hui people who raised camels in Ningxia. At that time, the big elderly vehicles were Yin family and Dong family, who lived in Nantianmen and Chua's area, and some of them were in Sicha, Shaodaogou, Masonry Kiln, Zhenggou, Yongfengbao and Wuduntai outside Pingmen. There are several carpenters in the bricklayer's kiln who specialize in repairing old cars and vehicles, and their income is quite rich.

Tens of thousands of camels and classic cars walk around the clock every year on the long Zhangku ancient commercial road. The jingle of camel bells and cow bells weaves a dream of making a fortune for Mongolian businessmen. Due to the obscurity of businessmen, the specific profits are unknown. Let's look at two small examples: an old lady who lives by collecting camel dung saved 13 houses in a few years with the profit of a bag of money. The ancestors of farmers in Nantianmen, Chua's, Shaodaogou, Sicha and Brick Kiln are mostly drivers who run on the grass to catch old cars. Once a year, one for each car. When they hauled light leather sheets from Ulaanbaatar, they built a house with cedar rafters. To this day, when they demolish old houses, they will dig out cedar rafters from the grassland. The profits selected are so carefully planned, and the profits from painstaking efforts are naturally self-evident.