Liyuan Dog Market, the largest dog market in northern China, is closing after years of popularity and scandals.

According to the official notice, the government decided to close the market to “strike a blow at the low-end dog breeding industry,” which is primarily concentrated in Tongzhou District. The district government said it is committed to cleaning up breeding practices within two years.

Liyuan is located on Rixin Lu by North Sixth Ring Road, relatively close to the site of Universal Studios Beijing.

The dog market rose to popularity in the late 1990s. It was never advertised, and its existence spread primarily by word of mouth.

As more customers arrived, so too did more vendors.

A Liyuan shop owner surnamed Zhang told Beijing Youth Daily reporters that both sides of the road used to be lined with people selling dogs. Many vendors operated out of tents. Bargaining was uncommon, and shoppers paid more than 10,000 yuan for dogs from specialty breeders.

Zhang said he used to be able to earn more than 200,000 yuan per year as a breeder operating at the market.

The flood of new vendors introduced serious management problems. By 2006, there were frequent reports of Liyuan vendors selling sick animals that had been subjected to industrial dyes and amateur plastic surgery to make them resemble more valuable breeds.

Today, the street was quiet. A golden retriever dog that used to sell for several thousand yuan now costs 1,000 yuan. Few customers have come to the market since the government announced its closure.

In its official statement, Liyuan County emphasized that the troubled dog market does not represent the typical practices of China’s breeding industry.

The closure is one of many by the Tongzhou district government, which is eager to rebrand itself as a developing city instead of the capital’s rural outskirts.