Chinese traders make a killing as Zims invade shops

Cashing in on the high demand for blankets, electronics and other goods, these immigrants have turned a chain of Chinese shops on Haskins Street into their shopping home. It is a matter of Chinese immigrant shop-owners attracting Zimbabwean immigrant-shoppers. The mall along this street, which some call 'Bulawayo', is not a modern boulevard and the buildings and pavement are clearly beaten with age. But it seems much more attractive to immigrants than locals.

As one meanders his way along these shops, one has to be vigilant and focus on where they are going, or risk colliding with this mass of people going in the opposite direction. Shona and Ndebele are the languages mostly spoken here. There is a bit of Setswana here and there. The movement is a real bustle. Most people would be carrying something. Men and women's necks look tense under the heavy loads on their heads.