Geographical Study on Free Markets in China

1992年，我把1988年出版的《中国股市大观》中所列的3,633个市场作为数据库，用计算机进行分析，以了解市场的特点。主要结果如下：1）传统的市场术语正在消失。2)大多数市场被归类为“一般市场”，一些被归类为“专业市场”，少数被归类为“整体销售市场”。3)其中40%是每日市场，其他是定期市场。后者主要以十天为一个周期，但有时也以十二天或七天为一个周期。4)市场上的平均服务员人数和每天的平均销售额都相当大。5)市场和建筑物的平均面积也相当大。6)每个市场销售的主要商品是农产品、制造业产品或两者兼而有之。7)大多数市场位于沿着干线公路，而国有企业则位于沿着水路或铁路。1993年我对各省统计年鉴进行了分析，以了解1980 - 1990年自由市场发展的概况和1988年自由市场的地区差异。结果表明：（1）自由市场的数量和销售额逐年增加，尤其是在城市地区。2)市场销售额在零售总额中所占的份额逐年增加。这意味着自由市场的重要性正在逐渐上升。3)这些市场作为易腐食品市场的特征正在逐年加强。4)由于北方与南方、沿海与内陆地区城市化程度、经济发展水平和自然条件的差异，各省的市场分布、分布密度、市场销售额、市场销售额占社会零售总额的比重以及市场销售额中各类商品的构成都有差异。

In 1992 I made a data base of 3,633 markets listed in 'Zhongguo-jishi-daguan' published in 1988 and analyzed it using computer in order to understand the characteristics of the markets. The main results are as follow ; 1)Traditional terminology for the markets is disappearing. 2)Most of the markets are classified as 'general market', some are as 'specialized market' and a few are as 'whole sale market'. 3)Fourty per cent of them are daily markets and others are periodic ones. The latters are held accoding to mainly ten-days cycle, but sometimes twelve-days or seven-days one. 4)Average number of attendants and average sales per day at the markets are fairly large. 5)Average area of the market place and that of the buildings are slso fairly big. 6)Main goods sold at each market are agricultural products, manufacturing products or both of them. 7)Most of the markets are located along trunk roads, and soae are along waterways or railways.In 1993 I analyzed statistical year books of all provinces in order to get general ideas of the development of the free markets between 1980 and 1990 and the areal differenciation of them in 1988. The results are as follow ; 1)Number of free markets and sales there are increasing year by year, particularly in urban area. 2)Share of sales at the markets in total retail sales is increasing year by year. It means that the free markets are gradually rising their importance. 3)The markets are strengthening their characteristics as perishable food markets year by year. 4)Location of the markets, density of their distribution, sales at them, share of the sales in total retail sales, and composition of each kind of goods in the sales vary in each province because of the differences of the degree in urbanization and economic development and the phisical conditions between northern and southern or coastal and inland regions.