The 56-year-old Xi’an native barber Sun Youliang, carrying all his equipment in the pockets of his white smock and black messenger bag, as well as a plastic stool on hand, was standing by the roadside keeping a watchful eye over the Chengguan.

Once confirmed that they don’t feel like picking on him today and are about to finish their routine patrol of the morning market, Sun went back to his post- where his fel-low street barbers- three female and one male all looking in their 50s and 60s- spaced one metres away from each other.

“Three stools already, they took from me,” said Sun, putting one knee on his stool, “sometimes it feels like a guerrilla.” He has a peasant like tanned skin tone, black, thick buzz cut hair, short and stout. Underneath his white smock he wears jeans and black trainers.

It’s not an ordinary hidden alley where these street barbers practice their techniques. It’s right next to the Wumu Gate along Xi’an city wall of 600 hundred years-not a main gate, though- therefore not a tourist hotspot. But if you frame the cobbled streets where vendors huddled around selling from fresh produce to household items, people and cars going through the arched gate, and the 12 meters tall ancient wall kissed by the rays of morning sunshine, you’ll get an enchanting nostalgic scene with a lot of life going on.

However it’s not the reminiscences of “good old days” that the majority of customers aim for, but rather the cheap price - in what other places in the city can you get your hair cut for only 6 yuan?

Sun’s equipment is minimal like everyone else: two scissors, a comb, and an addition of electric hair-chipper. Behind him, a straw broom lies against the antique bricks, next to a plastic bag that collects all the hairs he has cut off till this morning - black, grey, and white.

It’s a rare scene in nowadays China to see street barbers, though traditionally they op-erated on the streets before hair salon became a thing. Most of their clientele consists of return customers and passersby, also tourists - occasionally.

“ I’ve got pictures of foreigners letting me cut their hair, from last year,” Sun told me. He’s a talkative guy, and showed great interest in where I am from. After learning that I come from Hong Kong, he commented that I must make a good living. “ May-be I could charge 10 yuan for a haircut there.”

Haircut price for these street barbers was 5 yuan before and increased by 1 yuan only last year. Normally Sun tackles around 10 heads of hair a day, with daily income about 100 yuan on average.

He comes to his post every morning at 7 am and packs up for his day at sundown. He gives himself a lunch break at home because he lives within walking distance. The only intervention to his work is bad weather.

Sun is seasoned in the position. Starting an apprenticeship at 16, he has experience of more than 30 years. His first job was in a state-run barbershop. He didn’t work long there and soon after started his own business.

“At a time I hired two or three guys, ” he told me. About 8 years ago he left the shop to his wife- who is also a barber and has been shouldering the responsibility of taking care of their grandson - and claimed a place under the wall.

“I shut down the barbershop finally last year, ” he added. Compared with maintaining a shop, working on the street is more worry-free.

He smiles the whole time he talks, and always casts an eye over people passing by, searching for a potential client. I was curious if he could manage to persuade anyone to get a haircut.

“Of course you need to try, observe those whose hair grows longer. If it still looks short then don’t bother.”

Sun quickly spotted a middle-aged man walking toward us and waved to him,
:“wanna get a haircut ?” Unfortunately he didn’t respond to him but went straight to another female barber, who was quite popular with already 4 customers queuing up for their turn.

Then finally came his customer- an old man in a tuk tuk. Sun stepped up to assist him out of the tuk tuk.

I observed him wielding his scissors and comb on the old man’s head and it only took him 5 minutes to get the task done. The man didn’t even check his hair through a mirror - I doubt if Sun owned one but soon realised customers here don’t do such checks.

Then Sun got another white haired lady customer who seemed to have a prosthetic eye. Meanwhile, the lady barber next to Sun was still trimming the hair of the same customer, notably committed.

A well-dressed gentleman looking in his 60s was waiting for his wife to finish her haircut. He told me his wife comes to the lady barber every time because she’s skilful, patient and provides good service. “That guy,” he lowered his voice, referring to Sun, “is quite stubborn. Once I saw him quarrelling with a young man customer, who wanted to pay him 5 yuan instead of 6.”

When the lady barber finally got a break and sat on her stool to enjoy a bum, I man-aged to chat with her. “We all have our own pool of clientele”, she said, with a hum-ble smile.

As the vendors on the market began to pack up and the vibrancy gradually disap-peared on the street, two other barbers moved their stools nearer to the gate - for the barbers the peak time in the morning ended too.

Sweeping the hair on the floor, Sun made extra comments about his work: “I am happy with my earnings. My 80+ year-old parents are very healthy and can take care of themselves. I am working only for myself.”