Panjiayuan Market
Last weekend, Andy, a friend and myself rode our bikes to one of the most famous outdoor markets in Beijing, Panjiayuan Market. Considering that the market is only one mile from our apartment and rather famous, Andy and I were both baffled that in our respective 4 and 2 years living in Beijing, we hadn’t been there even once. We remedied that last Saturday. Panjiayuan initially became famous as an “antiques” market. Unfortunately nowadays real antiques are hard to find, and much of it, like the rest of China, is “fake old” -newly created but made to look old (Think the remodeled Forbidden City, Qianmen and all the “historic” hutongs that were really knocked down and rebuilt in the past decade). However, if you’re not actually looking for antiques, Panjiayuan is a wonderful place. The outdoor market sprawls under a series of pavilions, with vendors displaying their goods on the ground or in crudely crafted stalls. You can buy anything from ceramics to coats of armor. And there aren’t only Chinese vendors, but foreign ones as well. I spotted a group of Africans selling wooden carvings of giraffes and elephants. It was interesting to see the reverse bartering, the Chinese customer trying to get a lower price and the foreign vendor refusing to budge. It was very amusing. I had a little trouble bartering at this market, as most of the vendors didn’t play by the rules. They quoted one price, and when I said it was too expensive and walked away, they did not ask me what my “best price” was. Maybe they could tell that I wasn’t really interested in parting with my money, who knows. In any case, I didn’t end up buying anything, but I did take over the bartering for a painting my friend wanted to buy. I have to admit it wasn’t my best haggling experience, but I believe the price was fair. 195 kuai for a large oil painting (initial asking price was 350). And in the end I did make purchases at the glasses market (“spectacles city”) next to Panjiayuan. One pair of glasses and two half-year contacts all for a grand total of $36. Not bad.
