Driven potty: Chinese city officials ‘plant’ 400 trees to crowd out food vendors that block shopping street

Officials in one Chinese city have placed more than 400 trees in pots along a 400-metre shopping street to stop street vendors blocking the pavement, mainland media report.

The move – one of many efforts to solve the problem by Suzhou’s urban management authority, in Jiangsu province – follows numerous complaints from residents and shopkeepers about food stalls and outdoor dining tables blocking pedestrians, dumping litter, and creating smoke and loud noise, Thepaper.cn reported

More than 2,300 residents signed a petition in the past calling on the authorities to ban the street vendors.

Pavements were often blocked by food stalls so there was not enough space for shoppers to pass easily, and diners often dumped their empty food containers on the floor, the report said.

Shopkeepers and residents were also unhappy about the strong smell of cooked food and loud noise generated by the vendors and their customers.