Advances in Social Science and Culture ISSN 2640-9682 (Print) ISSN 2640-9674 (Online) Vol. 5, No. 1, 2023 www.scholink.org/ojs/index.php/assc 72 Original Paper Policy Reflection and Demystify on Street Vendors in the Context of COVID-19—Based on the Empirical Investigation of Pingfang District in Harbin Minna Yan 1 , Yike Zhao 1 & Yang Haomiao 1 1 Minna Yan, Zijin School of Geology and Mining, Fuzhou University, Fuzhou, China 1 Yike Zhao, School of Journalism & Communication, Northwest University, Shaanxi, China 1 Haomiao Yang, Department of business English, Harbin Finance University, Heilongjiang, China Received: January 12, 2023 Accepted: February 8, 2023 Online Published: February 14, 2023 doi:10.22158/assc.v5n1p72 URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.22158/assc.v5n1p72 Abstract At the beginning of 2020, the epidemic raged in China. Faced with the great pressure of economic downturn, the state has issued policies to relax the limitations on the street vending economy, making it promote employment and maintaining social stability in the stage of economic restart and recovery. This paper discussed policies related to street vendor economy under the background of epidemic in Pingfang District and gave reasonable suggestions for the orderly and stable development of the vendor economy in the post-epidemic era. Keywords street vending economy, epidemic, social survey, policy analysis JEL Classification Numbers: D74, R58 1. Introduction As a common economic behavior, there is no strict definition to street vending economy when it used as a concept, and there are differences in the definition among different scholars (Pan Zhendo, 2020). Some scholars believe that street vending economy refers to an economic form that obtains income by setting up land stalls, and it is a marginal economy in cities. Some scholars define it as a form of self-employment in which urban disadvantaged groups earn a living through their own labor, providing services to society or selling commodities on urban streets. Based on the results of research and investigation, this paper defines the street vending economy as a low-cost, independent and free form www.scholink.org/ojs/index.php/assc Advances in Social Science and Culture Vol. 5, No. 1, 2023 73 Published by SCHOLINK INC. of self-employment economy with night operation as the main form for the survival and development of urban low-income people, and the main content is to provide certain products or services. In terms of the characteristics of street vending economy, it mainly has the characteristics of low entry threshold, low cost and low risk. Low barriers to entry is refers to the vendor does not need to meet the high skills and education required to enter the market, low cost refers to the vendor to bear the cost of raw material and stores is lower than ordinary shops, low risk mainly self-employed with employment closely related to the nature of, vendor should bear the risk of unemployment is low, at the same time because of the small investment, make the management risk is greatly reduced. Since the outbreak of the novel coronavirus, people across the country have stayed indoors and stopped production in order to cooperate with the epidemic prevention and control work. As the battle line for epidemic prevention and control is lengthening, economic problems and social livelihood issues have become increasingly serious. Prime minister in 2020, li praised lay in “economy” is “earthly fireworks”, is the life of China (Song Dui-dui, 2021), based on the reality of low income and employment, the government of “bundling” of squatter communities, and then the squatter communities springing up, among them, the cities show a thriving vitality, through innate soft economic advantage to build characteristic squatter communities, Combined with the structure of production capacity, adjust the relationship between social supply and demand, so as to better drive the recovery and development of local related economic industries. This article selects the lay in the densely populated places in Harbin city collection as the main survey sites, from the perspective of consumers, the combination of vendor and the game analysis of government policy, the street vending economic development of the existing problems, puts forward suggestions for specification out of the economic development, make its better integrated into the city, lay in the urban construction and economic development hand in hand coordination, Create a vision for your life. 2. Background 2.1 Brief Introduction of Respondents The survey site is Pingfang District, also known as Harbin Economic and Technological Development Zone, which is subordinate to Harbin City, Heilongjiang Province. It is located in the southern suburb of Harbin city. Pingfang district has jurisdiction over 7 streets and 1 town, with a total area of 93.8 square kilometers, and its Geographic coordinates are 126°33 ‘45 “to 126°48’ 45” E, 45°30 ‘00 “to 45°40’ 00” N (Figure 1). Pingfang district has a long history and its historical evolution can be traced back to before the Qing Dynasty. www.scholink.org/ojs/index.php/assc Advances in Social Science and Culture Vol. 5, No. 1, 2023 74 Published by SCHOLINK INC. Figure 1. The Boroughs of Pingfang District 2.2 Introduction and Interpretation of Current Policy This understanding is mainly based on government documents from the People’s Government of Pingfang District, Harbin City, Heilongjiang Province and the Harbin City Bureau of Letters and Visits.” At present, the district encourages the gradual development of the street economy, and in particular strongly supports the development of night-time businesses. Having expanded the two original market stalls, the Pingfang District now has 18 street market stalls, 1,358 stalls, 2,648 employees, one temporary market in the neighbourhood, 23 streets open and businesses allowed to operate outside their doors. The original market maintains the same fee system as before. Under the current regulations, stalls are mainly located in squares, neighbourhoods, on the outskirts of main roads and commercial areas. An example of this is the night market in another district of Harbin that adheres to the same policy. The night market was established in 2013 as a government plan for the original market, with dedicated staff responsible for maintenance, management and cleaning. Within the planning area of the district’s Dongyuan office, the following blocks (2-56) and Zhonghe Hutong (2-24) are designated as free business zones, in response to the government’s call to develop mass stalls and stabilise people’s livelihoods. Those who wish to work here can apply to the subordinate office and operate once they have passed the application. Under the leadership of the Epidemic Prevention Command, our district was briefed two years ago by the District Urban Management Bureau on specific measures to strengthen the market’s epidemic prevention. By the District Urban Management Bureau before and after the opening of the market to carry out a centralized disinfection in order to strengthen the management of the stalls, set up several cameras in the market for full monitoring, strengthen scientific epidemic prevention, close the market to natural enemies, set up several cameras in the market for full monitoring, strengthen the autonomy of the owners, effectively tow volunteers, mobile patrols without interruption and publicity work has been promoted. www.scholink.org/ojs/index.php/assc Advances in Social Science and Culture Vol. 5, No. 1, 2023 75 Published by SCHOLINK INC. 2.3 Policy Implementation Status The Urban Management Bureau of Pingfang district also takes into account comprehensive epidemic prevention and orderly liberalization. In terms of market stall management, the Urban Management Bureau of Pingfang district has high standards and strict requirements, and comprehensively improves the management and control mode of stall planning, clear operation time limit and standardized health standards, so as to stimulate the economy, increase income and promote consumption as much as possible on the basis of ensuring the good order of urban living environment. 3. Material and Method Based on the public documents of Harbin government and the research results of previous scholars, the survey was carried out through the distribution of specific questionnaires, field observation and face-to-face interviews. The respondents, who included street vendors and city dwellers, were the result of random sampling. As a result, 57 questionnaires issued to street vendors included 50 valid and 7 questionnaires which were eliminated through preset questions. 62 questionnaires aimed at residents were no discarded. 3.1 For the Street Vendors We carried out the survey mainly through questionnaire survey supplemented by field observation and communication. We designed a concrete questionnaire which included different questions that constituted the main research focus. The questionnaire was subdivided into 4 parts including: 1) Personnel composition characteristics of street vendors group; 2) The operation of stalls and its influence factors; 3) In the context of COVID-19, the main difficulties faced by street vendors in the operation;4) Vendors’ concrete feelings about the current relevant policies;5) Vendors’ receptivity of the proposed policies.(Table 1) 3.2 For the Urban Residents Relevant data were collected through a well-designed questionnaire, which covered the influencing factors and preferences of street stalls’ consumption as well as their feelings towards the relevant policies. (Table 2) www.scholink.org/ojs/index.php/assc Advances in Social Science and Culture Vol. 5, No. 1, 2023 76 Published by SCHOLINK INC. Table 1. Questionnaire Content Designed for Street Vendors Table 2. Questionnaire Content Designed for Residents www.scholink.org/ojs/index.php/assc Advances in Social Science and Culture Vol. 5, No. 1, 2023 77 Published by SCHOLINK INC. 4. Discussion 4.1 Personnel Component Analysis The street vendors surveyed in this questionnaire were mainly middle-aged (40-50 years old), accounting for 68%, young and middle-aged (30-40 years old) and old (over 50 years old) accounting for 12% and 22% respectively. The survey showed that the majority of street vendors are women, accounting for 66% of the total. Questionnaire results show that 54% of street vendors have a junior high school education, which was followed by primary schools at 36%. Thus, the practitioners are mostly people with low employability. According to the survey of residents, 58% of respondents said they frequented street stalls. It reflects that floor stall consumption has become a part of the daily consumption of residents in cottage areas, further revealing that floor stall products have a huge consumer market. At the same time, the ground stall entrepreneurship is also characterized by a wide range of existence, low entry threshold, less start-up capital and flexible business scope, which not only helps to stimulate the entrepreneurial enthusiasm of disadvantaged groups, but also helps them accumulate business experience with low risk. This is why the US has adopted “lemonade stand” as a basic entrepreneurship course for young people. The income of street vendors is not bad either. According to the questionnaire survey results of street vendors, the average daily operating income of street vendors is mainly within the range of 300-500 yuan (The average disposable income of urban residents in Harbin is 42,745 yuan in 2021 (Harbin Municipal Government Office, 2022)). From the above reasons, it is not difficult to conclude that street vendors can provide a large number of employment opportunities for the disadvantaged groups with low employability in cities (Qing Bo & Meng Qing, 2022). At present, countries around the world have been hit by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to the unemployment rate has risen to varying degrees (International Labour Organization, 2021). Encouraging residents to run street stalls is a good way to increase the employment rate. (Zhou Xiaosui & Wu Xiao, 2020) www.scholink.org/ojs/index.php/assc Advances in Social Science and Culture Vol. 5, No. 1, 2023 78 Published by SCHOLINK INC. 4.2 The Operation of Booths and Its Influence Factors According to the results of field visit and questionnaire survey, stalls independently assembled by vendors can be divided into three types according to geographical location (Gengzhi, 2015) (Figure 2). The first type of stalls is located near the shopping mall and shares customer groups with the shopping mall. The second type of stalls are located near residential areas with relatively fixed consumer groups, mainly nearby residents. The third type of stalls are located near schools, and consumers are mainly students, their parents and residents of nearby school district houses. The main characteristics of these locations are convenient transportation and large flow of people. Due to restrictions imposed by the government, the business hours of street vendors are usually between 5 am and 8 PM. Hawkers operate a very simple range of goods, selling raw meat and vegetables and other agricultural products accounted for up to 80%. Through field interviews, we learned that due to the COVID-19 epidemic, many recreational street stalls gradually disappeared due to the epidemic prevention and control requirements, and the types of goods sold by street stalls gradually shifted to raw meat and vegetables and other daily necessities. Figure 2. Main Areas where Street Vendors Concentrated 4.3 Policy Implications It is of great significance for alleviating employment pressure, ensuring people’s livelihood and maintaining social stability. It also plays a role in stimulating market vitality, promoting economic consumption and displaying a unique market culture. It is a good policy to ensure employment, warm people’s hearts and increase vitality after the epidemic. However, the advantages and disadvantages of the policy are becoming more and more obvious as the street vending economy becomes more and more popular. The existing or criticized problems in the past and the new problems under the new policy are worthy of our attention. www.scholink.org/ojs/index.php/assc Advances in Social Science and Culture Vol. 5, No. 1, 2023 79 Published by SCHOLINK INC. 4.3.1 Strong Government Policy Support In March 2020, The General Office of the State Council issued the Opinions on The Implementation of Measures to Strengthen Employment Stability in Response to the Impact of COVID-19 (hereinafter referred to as the Opinions), which stated that “the management mode of street vendors without fixed business premises should be reasonably set up, and free markets, stall groups and other business outlets should be reserved.” The Opinions provide a theoretical basis for liberalizing the street vending economy (Practice innovation group of “guide the normalization of grey economy development exploration”, 2013). Harbin city in July 2020 frame for squatter communities, to effectively do a good job in “six stability” to carry out the “six protect” task, effective response to the outbreak, accelerate the return to release and energy consumption potential, Harbin Municipal Government released “prosperous night in Harbin economic plan (2020-2022)” (Harbin Municipal Government Office, 2020), to promote the development of out of the economic system guarantee is given. The document makes specific provisions on guiding the construction of key business areas, creating thematic cultural scenes, improving the site environment, improving the level of site hardware facilities, improving the service level and quality of the planning area, and taking preventive measures against COVID-19, providing institutional guarantee for promoting the development of land sharing economy. In the Notice of “Ten measures” to invigorate circulation and promote consumption by using urban public space in Harbin (Harbin Municipal Government Office, 2020) released by Harbin Municipal Government on June 3, 2020, we can see the efforts made by the government to promote the development of land sharing economy. In terms of capital, Harbin municipal government reduces its operating costs by reducing or exempting booth fees, aiming at the poor risk resistance ability and insufficient working capital of most street vendors. At the same time, it establishes corresponding incentive policies to improve the enthusiasm and initiative of street vendors. In terms of space, the government caters to the business subject’s demand for fixed stalls, carries out reasonable urban planning, and opens up commercial blocks with the characteristics of ground stalls, which not only facilitates the business subject, but also facilitates the unified supervision and management of the government. In terms of service management, the government has implemented an inclusive supervision system and made relevant regulations on logistics work such as environmental sanitation, garbage removal and traffic order to ensure order and harmony in the commercial district. 4.3.2 Critical Thinking about Current Policies Based on the above analysis, it can be seen that there are some deficiencies in the current policies in this area, mainly in the following aspects (Chen, 2017). 4.3.2.1 Single Commodity Type in the Same Region 70% of respondents believe that the main difficulty they face today is fierce competition, which we assume is related to the large concentration of stalls selling similar products in the same area. In the course of field visits, we found that 80% of vendors sell mainly farm products. In our opinion survey www.scholink.org/ojs/index.php/assc Advances in Social Science and Culture Vol. 5, No. 1, 2023 80 Published by SCHOLINK INC. on the location of stalls in cottage areas, 70% of respondents believe that the government-designated areas lead to the enrichment of merchants selling similar goods in a large number in the same area, which increases the difficulty of competition. This result corresponds exactly to our view. Booths in Harbin have clear requirements for the day market, morning market and night market, which are very convenient and quick to operate. But vendors gather in the same area, sharing customers in the same area，further increasing competition among them. The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic has reduced the living space of those who sell recreational products as well, which further reduce the variety of goods available for sale. According to the understanding, before the epidemic, vendors in squares, parks and other places had a relatively selective selection of children’s games, such as fishing games, self-operated trampolines, balloon pistols, etc. However, due to the requirements of epidemic prevention and control, such vendors gradually disappear after the outbreak. First, follow the policy guidance. Second, parents will not choose to let their children play in the game stalls in the park during the epidemic stage, which is a considerable contrast with that before the epidemic. Before the epidemic, the game stalls in squares and parks were more popular types, while such vendors have only two choices, For vendors who give up or switch to other types, there will inevitably be a large gap in income and stall mode compared with that before the epidemic. The above situations inevitably led to the simplification of goods types sold at street stalls. In addition, the supplier model is fixed. This consumption model will undoubtedly promote the competition among vendors in the same region. Due to the convergence of commodity types, the sales revenue of vendors of the same type in the same region is relatively close but generally lower than the ideal level or the difference is too large. At the same time, the results of the questionnaire survey for consumers show that variety is the third most important factor affecting consumers’ choice of stalls, and too single product category is likely to reduce consumers’ enthusiasm for stall products. While this facilitates government regulation, it is hard to ensure that it can continue for long without collapsing. Consideration should be given to promoting complementarity among various suppliers within the same region. Guiding different vendors in the same area to sell complementary goods can not only enrich the variety of goods, stimulate consumption potential, but also ease the relationship between vendors and create a good scope of business cooperation. Therefore, the booth structure needs to be adjusted from a single to diversified. 4.3.2.2 Difficulties for Vendors To Stabilize Under The Normal Situation Of The Epidemic In the context of the outbreak of the epidemic, the implementation of the home isolation policy in many places has seriously hit the survival of street vendors. Combined with the different conditions of relaxing the control of street vendors in various parts of China, there are loopholes in the operation of vendors in each region. 84% of the vendors in the questionnaire chose the epidemic, which has a great impact on their operation. 64% of respondents believe that the epidemic has reduced passenger flow and caused business difficulties. And the vast majority of vendors’ income accounts for more than half or even all of the total family income, and most vendors are full-time mobile vendors. It can be seen www.scholink.org/ojs/index.php/assc Advances in Social Science and Culture Vol. 5, No. 1, 2023 81 Published by SCHOLINK INC. that the income of vendors is the basis of the total family income. However, in the current situation, although the policy is relaxed and there is help for vendors from zero operation and current operation, it is inevitable to control the number and space range of vendors due to both epidemic control and the improvement of residents’ awareness of infection prevention leads to reduced travel, which resulted in decrease of passenger flow. 4.3.2.3 Lake of Direct Communication and Feedback between Vendors and Managers Downtown pressure on the economy and the pressure of the domestic economy is under the influence of the international environment, COVID-19 and the pressure of the domestic economic downturn. The social economy is full of challenges. The relationship between the workers and the subordinates is complex. There is also the possibility of disputes between the vendors and the city managers in the seemingly free management of mobile vendors. From the analysis of the vendors’ questionnaires, we know that only 6% of them are satisfied with the attitude of the managers. We know that most of the vendors sell in the morning market because the district’s documented policy specifies the operating hours of the morning and night markets; based on the spatial distribution of the vendors, we know that some of the morning markets are in front of secondary schools. Because the policy and regulations do not interfere with school teaching as much as possible, the city manager should ensure that the morning market ends at the right time. During the daily negotiations, the environment is noisy and some verbal arguments inevitably arise. In the post-epidemic era, major cities have reconciled the relationship between urban management and mobile vendors through “legal recognition” and “spatial concessions”, resulting in a new situation where the stall economy and the city develop in harmony. Although the original intention of the Urban Authority was to implement policies and serve the city, the fact is that although it is still a small problem, it is necessary to establish the contact between the vendors and managers in some aspects, so that the opinions of both sides can be exchanged in time (Jiang, 2018). 4.3.3 Proposed Policies 4.3.3.1 Establish an Autonomous Organization Of Vendors The existence of street vendors undoubtedly makes urban management more difficult. How to urge street vendors to abide by social norms, to limit street vendors’ behavior of destroying the urban environment meanwhile enjoying the economic dividend brought by street vendors’ business, so as to achieve the best game results between street vendors, the public and the city, is a problem worthy of our thinking and practice. The successful precedent of establishing the self-government system of street vendors in Taipei Ningxia night market can be used for reference. The famous Ningxia night market vendors in Taipei set up an autonomous organization called “Ningxia Night Market Tourism Association” (Li, 2015). All the vendors in the night market are members of the association, and the association has a director, several directors, the director general and a financial officer who are responsible for the daily administrative work of the association. Three other supervisors are responsible for supervision. The chairman and the supervisor are elected by the members, while the director general www.scholink.org/ojs/index.php/assc Advances in Social Science and Culture Vol. 5, No. 1, 2023 82 Published by SCHOLINK INC. and the treasurer are appointed by the chairman. The relevant department of Taipei City Government is the competent authority. As an autonomous organization, the stallholders have been creative and organized activities such as “environmental night market” and “Not going along with the dirty” which have been attended by all members of the autonomous council, attracting more local people and tourists from all over the country. Therefore, it is not hard to see that “street vendor autonomy” plays a positive role in both mobilizing street vendors to participate in urban management and promoting the efficient implementation of public policies. In addition, the supplier model is fixed. According to the questionnaire, the morning market focuses on fruits, vegetables, raw meat and clothing, while the night market focuses on snacks and toys. This can also reflect the diversity of local stalls from the side. This consumption model will undoubtedly promote the competition among vendors in the same region. Due to the convergence of commodity types, the sales revenue of vendors of the same type in the same region is relatively close but generally lower than the ideal level or the difference is too large. At the same time, the results of the questionnaire survey for consumers show that variety is the third most important factor affecting consumers’ choice of stalls, and too single product category is likely to reduce consumers’ enthusiasm for stall products. While this facilitates government regulation, it is hard to ensure that it can continue for long without collapsing. In the investigation aimed at consumers, 45% of respondents said they were most worried about substandard goods when buying street stalls. About 27 percent of residents said they were concerned about hygiene and after-sale services. 77% of respondents indicated that the government’s enhanced control over the product quality, food safety and site hygiene would enhance their consumption desire (Figure 3). The successful case of street vendors spontaneously improving environmental hygiene and product quality after the implementation of autonomous system in Ningxia night market tells us that the self-government system can better constrain street vendors to improve health awareness and produce high-quality goods. This has a high possibility to improve residents’ consumption desire for stall products. Figure 3. Concerns when Buying Stall Products At the same time, the self-management of stallholders can transform the contradiction between stallholders and urban management into a cooperative relationship of joint management (Zhan et al., www.scholink.org/ojs/index.php/assc Advances in Social Science and Culture Vol. 5, No. 1, 2023 83 Published by SCHOLINK INC. 2008). If an autonomous organization of stallholders is established, the conflicts between stallholders and urban management officers can be reduced and unified management opinions can be reached through joint discussion and consultation between the urban management officers and the organization as well as within the autonomous organization, and mutual supervision and self-supervision of stallholders can be promoted to create a good atmosphere for self-management. (Cui, 2014) It is reported that under the current situation of normalization of the epidemic situation, the Pingfang District of Harbin has implemented vendor autonomy in market epidemic prevention and control. Outside the market, citizens are guided to line up with seats through the combination of playing audio and setting fences; At the market entrance, set up video equipment, collect personnel information, and use scientific and technological means to help accurately prevent and control the epidemic; In the market, six cameras are set up to monitor the whole process, and the measures of owner autonomous management + effective counseling of volunteers + continuous patrol of mobile sentry are adopted to prevent personnel from gathering, and the incorrect wearing of masks by businesses and citizens are corrected in time. In order to prevent aggregation, two entrances are set for the market to control the flow of people, and the flow of residents entering the market is limited to prevent aggregation of residents. Epidemic prevention and control reminder facilities and temperature detection equipment shall be set at the entrance and exit. Reset the booth position according to the single and double numbers and maintain the distance between the stalls. Now the direction of owner autonomy management and effective counseling of volunteers has been successfully implemented. If the focus is extended from epidemic prevention and control to all directions of vendors, so as to establish a bridge between leaders and vendors, it is feasible. 4.3.3.2 To Build Digital Multiple Governance Models, Power Booths in New Economic Development At present, China’s digital economy ranks second in the world, and it can be said that China is a worthy digital country. If we can use digital economy and Internet Plus technology to promote the development of street vending economy, the effect may be twice the result with half the effort. We can use advanced technology to make statistical disclosure of vendors’ information and business scope. On the one hand, consumers can understand the information of stall owners. On the other hand, it can also facilitate management. In addition, it is also an effective method to arrange the range and time period of stall owners according to traffic conditions through Internet Plus technology, provide digital technical support for stall setting, and use mobile payment and other tools to promote the development of street vending economy. For stallholders, the supply of goods and financial support can also be guaranteed through digital management, which can enrich the profit of stallholders. With the support of digital technology, the street vending economy will be revitalized and can better provide convenience for people (Xiu, 2020). There is a need for innovative ways of communication between stall owners and city managers. Establishing a bridge of communication between the two sides is essential to the healthy and sustainable development of a stable economy. The production of stall information distribution map www.scholink.org/ojs/index.php/assc Advances in Social Science and Culture Vol. 5, No. 1, 2023 84 Published by SCHOLINK INC. involves joint efforts of urban management and transportation departments. The official “stall information distribution map” can be pushed in real time in intelligent forms such as software or official accounts, so that stall owners can conveniently know relevant information in time. The information distribution map not only contains all kinds of real-time policies and regulations, but also incorporates various contents such as the placement requirements of stalls, total number of stalls and traffic information. In addition, public accounts or software can be set up. The software and the public account can not only push the information distribution map of the street stalls, but also set up a communication plate to facilitate the timely communication between the stall owner and the city manager, and build a bridge for convenient communication between the two sides. During the epidemic period, we can clearly see the vitality of the market economy. While complying with the law of the development of the street vending economy, downtown managers must take precautions to do a good job in management and service. In order to assure the long-term existence of the street vending economy as a certified and compliant economic model, continuous practice and exploration are required. Of the 62 residents surveyed, 48 requested for stronger supervision and control of land stalls. Meanwhile, the local residents believe that the stalls can be enhanced in the digital age. Since entering the Internet era, electronic certificates have long been a universal thing. Its existence makes the card-holding management to get rid of time and space bondage. Among the vendors surveyed this time, 62% of respondents showed their willingness to participate in the training of business and network technology related to street stall operation. So the card-holding management of street vending economy has certain conditions. “Electronic certificate” is a new way to standardize the operation of local street vending economy, which can ensure the operation mode, operation order, food safety, environmental protection, tax fees and other aspects. In the post-epidemic era, we can know the operator’s business information, health status and travel track through the electronic certificates, and use big data analysis to guarantee the legitimate rights and interests of consumers, health and safety. The electronic operation of road stall certificate can not only serve consumers, but also provide effective booth location and booth period for the self-employed at the bottom by utilizing mechanical, Baidu and other large map data, so as to decrease costs and improve efficiency and achieve digital empowerment (Chen et al., 2020). The return of street vending economy is the general trend, the result of market economy and marginal economy. Rather than “catch up”, “catch up”, “one size fits all”, it is better to build a digital diversified governance mode, so as to explore multi-party linkage mechanisms to promote the healthy development of street vending economy. Through taking various measures to reduce the harm caused by the street vending economy, creating a good environment conducive to the healthy development of the street vending economy, the street vending economy becomes a new era. Make the economy more prosperous, the people more happy, and the city more harmonious. www.scholink.org/ojs/index.php/assc Advances in Social Science and Culture Vol. 5, No. 1, 2023 85 Published by SCHOLINK INC. 5. Conclusion The purpose of this paper is to understand the current situation of street vendors in the main economic zones of Harbin City and to analyze the impact of street vendors in the current economic zones of Harbin City. This work contributes to our understanding of the implementation and outcomes of the government’s economic policies towards vendors under the epidemic and expands our understanding of the relationship between the government, vendor owners and residents under the epidemic. This research has found that generally, overall, we know that Harbin has some policy assistance for vendors under normal conditions of the epidemic, but there are still issues such as the impact of the epidemic on business and the difficulty for vendors to respond upwards. 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