Downtown Harare has assumed a new image characterized by clean, spruced up buildings that now house mostly small to medium Chinese retail firms.
Most commercial buildings s in downtown Harare had become an eyesore in recent years as landlords struggled to maintain them due to the harsh economic environment that prevailed in the country prior to the formation of an inclusive government last year which brought political and economic stability.
Some of the structures, built before 1980, had either been turned into squalid homes by vagrants while others became havens for criminal activities.
The unfavorable economic climate that prevailed before 2009 pushed most firms out of business, leaving quite a number of city buildings vacant.
Concerned about the poor state of the buildings, government a few years ago ordered owners of commercial buildings in Harare to refurbish their buildings and bring them to good condition.
A few companies managed to refurbish while the majority, particularly the disused, remained in poor state.
But the face of downtown Harare has changed dramatically as Chinese investors coming into the country have brought business for commercial landlords who are refurbishing their buildings for use by Chinese retailers.
A Harare landlord who requested anonymity told Xinhua on Monday that his building which had become derelict because of the harsh economic environment was undergoing intensive refurbishments to cater for Chinese and other foreign commercial tenants.
"I have had to convert the car park of this building into shops as demand for retail space mainly by the Chinese and Nigerians soar," the landlord said while keeping an eye on workers plastering one of the cluster shops.
Harare was not used to the phenomenon of small, cluster shops but this has become the trend as property owners seek to maximize on land available.
The Chinese are specializing in selling clothes, blankets, household and enamel ware, electrical gadgets and even bicycles, among other products.
Recently, one Harare resident Charlene Choto marveled at how some of the crumbled buildings had been brought back to life and turned into busy retail shops that have the distinct advantage of offering new and reasonably priced products.
"I am so happy that Chinese business has made our downtown buildings look new again. The refurbishments have brought beauty and glamour to our city and have also contributed to the general cleanliness of the town," Choto said.
She said she used to despise shopping in down town Harare because of the filthy buildings and the unclean environment but she now enjoyed shopping there because of the fresh environment and the availability of numerous Chinese shops that offer a wide choice of products.
The Chinese investment in the retail sector has also offered job opportunities to local Zimbabweans.
Almost all workers in Chinese-owned shops in Zimbabwe are locals.
Blessing Mutenyu, an employee in a fast rising Chinese super market chain in the capital said he was happy the Chinese offered him a job because he was now able to fend for his two siblings and parents living in rural Mtoko.
"I thought my life was doomed when I failed my secondary education but I am happy that the Chinese offered me a job as a till operator. I received in house training and I am performing my job very well," he said.
While initially Chinese merchandise was despised by locals for being of poor quality, the situation has changed now as most shops are stocking goods of superior quality.
Most Zimbabweans in the low to middle income bracket who find locally made clothes expensive now prefer buying clothes and other items from Chinese shops rather than buy old items at flea markets dotted around the city.
The country's locally made clothes are still expensive because of low production capacity in the textile industry.
"The good thing is that Chinese products are new, cheap and fashionable unlike those at flea markets," said Prisca Mhare, a Harare housemaid.
To many, Prisca now looks no more an ordinary housemaid thanks to fashionable clothes and hair accessories that she buys from Chinese shops.
