Sales blossom at lakeside lotus market

Locals line up to make prized purchases at 'secret site' in Hangzhou

It was 7:25 on a Friday morning, too early for the crowds of tourists who flock daily to the banks, bridges and pagodas of West Lake in Hangzhou.

But as the summer heat rose at the UNESCO World Heritage site in the Zhejiang provincial capital, a fully laden sampan appeared on the motionless water, bobbing toward the lake's northern bank.

A rush of excitement passed through a small group waiting there－mostly middle-aged or elderly locals－as they formed an orderly line and unfolded their bags.

At the stroke of 7:30, the first in the line, a short, curly-haired woman in her 50s, rushed to the edge of the lake and showed her ticket.

It gave her permission to buy what she came for, 15 lotus leaves and four lotus heads, at a total cost of 20 yuan ($3).

"I had a friend who lives nearby come here at 3:30 am to stand in line for me and get the first ticket. I took the first morning bus, at 5:30, to get here," said Zhou Xiaohua, who secured pride of place in the line.

In the hometown of Taobao, the world's biggest e-commerce website, this traditional market stands out against the sweeping trend of e-commerce.

Nicknamed the "ghost market" by locals, it operates for just 20 minutes from Monday to Friday every summer from early July until late August.