Lau Hiufai, 39, owner of Delia vintage shop in Wudaoying Hutong, Beijing. [Photo by Ken Chan/China Daily]

Lau says he opened the shop six years ago after taking over space left vacant by a friend.

"Wudaoying used to be a quiet hutong, and I didn't give that much thought to whether it would be ideal for a vintage shop or not. I reckoned that if I put a lot of effort into growing the business, people would naturally be attracted to it."

Liu of Mega Vintage says: "It's the law of attraction; people who understand will press on to find what they are looking for."

He opened a second shop at the end of 2015 on the sixth floor of a large building in the Sanlitun in Beijing, next to a coffee shop and a barber shop that he says are both furnished in a vintage style.

While that may seem like the ideal location for a vintage shop, Liu reckons he relies heavily on regular customers rather than foot traffic.

Luo Luo of Lolo Love Vintage is keen to raise the performance and the profile of the vintage clothing industry in China, and has organized events with that in mind.

One of these is a retro society ball held every three months whose aim is to give people a chance to show off their vintage clothes as they indulge in a bit of time travel.

"I hold the ball for two reasons: I want to have fun and I feel that it is my responsibility to popularize vintage culture.