Nowaday,customers have to pay for shopping bags in supermarkets, department stores and grocery stores across the country, following a ban on free plastic bags in retail outlets.

As the "campaign against plastic bags" started today, many shoppers, especially senior ones, felt delighted with a return to the old days.

"Back in the 50s, it was so nice shopping with a bamboo basket. Offering free plastic bags might be convenient for the customers, but in the long run, we'd better stop using them. "

"I prefer cloth bags and I have made one myself. We used to carry cloth bags in the past. I refused to take plastic bags because they are often discarded everywhere. It looks bad."

The campaign is considered a test for the shoppers who are used to having free plastic bags, especially young people, but many of them are adapting pretty well.

"It's no trouble bringing a shopping bag. Just a problem of habit. It will be ok when people get used to it in a couple of days."

"Everything takes time. The cloth bags are so much better than the plastic ones. "

30-year-old-or-so Wang Lei forgot to bring his shopping bag. He had to buy one at a nearby Ji'An Hypermarket in Beijing.

"It's not a matter of money, but people's awareness of environmental protection. I will remember to bring my bag next time. Although it's not so convenient, it's our duty to follow the new rule. I totally understand this."

The hypermarket offers fabric bags, priced at about three yuan each, and plastic ones at a cost of 2 to 5 jiao each according to their size. Li Jing is a sales supervisor.

"Sixty to seventy of them have been sold this morning. Very very few people are using plastic bags today. "

Plastic bags are a major contributor to white pollution in the country. If burned, they pollute the air; and if buried, they need over 100 years to decompose.

So far, this has been the largest-scale environmental-friendly attempt by China's retail sector.