On one side of a mobile barber's carrying pole was a wooden rectangular cabinet with a large bottom and a small top, equipped with two or three drawers containing all kinds of shaving tools, and could also be used as a stool for customers; on the other side was a wooden frame fitted with a small stove on which a brass washbasin was set for customers to wash their heads with hot water. And the wooden frame was attached to a mirror and a device that could hold a towel. The top of the wooden frame hung a cowhide that was used to sharpen the knives, and there was "Xiang Yi Zi" (soap) by the washbasin. As only one side has a stove, the saying went: "Mobile barber's carrying pole, only one hot side", which is used now to describe the active participation of only one party of a pair. The barbers would take their carrying poles and walk through the streets, holding a steel "Huan Tou" (a bell or gong used by street peddlers, barbers, etc. to attract attention). "Huan Tou" had a melodious and trembling sound, so if the old and young men who lived in the courtyard needed to have their heads shaved heard this special metal vibrato of the "Huan Tou," they would know that the barber was coming!

In old Beijing, there were traditional mobile barbers who specialized in shaving heads, cheap stalls, and "barbershops" which were very modern at that time. A modern "barbershop" was usually a place for modern people, students, clerks, etc. while old-fashioned people would never go there.

Nowadays, the mobile barbers with their carrying poles have long disappeared from people's view. Now the streets are full of new and modern hairdressing salons and barbershops, which will give you a very fashionable hairstyle. After all, young people always want to be pioneers in fashion.
(Note: Content source is from the Beijing News.)