Beijing's first legal dog market has opened. It will start businesses officially in September.

Dogs are among the most popular pets in Beijing, but with no supervised marketplace, the unclear prices and legitimacy of dog sales have made people wary of buying a pet.

The market is now under trial operation and will start businesses officially in September.

All sorts of dogs will be available there, including show breeds like Shar Pei and Chow Chows.

An exercise space and an epidemic prevention center for dogs are under construction near the market.

The registration of dogs is strongly regulated in Beijing, and there are few stray dogs on the streets; on the contrary, pet dogs in Beijing are mostly molly-coddled.

(Xinhua News Agency July 15, 2004)