A horse-drawn carriage, seen in central Beijing in 2009. The horse appeared to be in great shape, with a fine hide and strong legs. The carriage has four wheels, small ones up front and larger ones at the rear. The front axle turns with the horse. The animal’s owner was selling super fresh and testy watermelons. This was near my house, and I always bought from this guy in summer. He came from a village to the east.
Until about 2010 it was quite normal to see these in the capital in summer, bringing in fruit and vegetables from the nearby countryside and selling it straight from the cart. On warm these in the weekends you could see them on many street corners.
The end of the horses in Beijing was caused by two things: The city government thought the animals looked too old fashioned for a modern city, and forbade all horses within the Fifth Ring Road. Secondly, motorized tricycle flatbed vehicles, like the one on the right, became the vehicle of choice for most farmers when their incomes went up. Nowadays, most of these tricycles are electric.
Outside the Fifth Ring Road you can still find horse-drawn carriages even today, mainly used for carrying discarded stones and other stuff from construction sites.