Bazaar Beliefs: The Dao of the Beijing Antiquarian

Whether you're devoting a small corner of your home to traditional Chinese style or relying on a Chinese flavour as a central theme of your whole décor, chances are you'll spend quite some time in Beijing's many and varied bazaars searching for that perfect item to complete the look.

And while the story of the guy who bought the bone from Panjaiyuan for a few hundred yuan to later have it valued at a few hundred thousand is almost certainly apocryphal, it does add a certain zest to one's browsing pleasure!

The Basics

The only real rule of shopping at any of Beijing's big markets is: bargain, bargain, bargain. Take two facts with you as fundamentals: no shopkeeper in the history of the world has ever sold something for less than they bought it; and the point of bargaining is not, strangely enough, only about price, it's also to make the shopping experience a story, and thus fun and memorable for both buyer and seller. If playing "good cop - bad cop" with your shopping partner is fun for you, then by all means use that tactic. If relying on the natural sympathy we all have for someone making an effort -- in what is obviously not their native tongue -- is going to help you practise your Chinese and also buy a nice throw rug, then go right ahead! Do not, however, make the mistake of thinking that your "bargaining strategy" will be new to the seller, or that "the game" has to be carried on past the point of pain. Seasoned bargainers all agree - the more fun you have with it, the better the prices.

Caveat Emptor: Chinese law forbids exporting pre-1795 antiques. For goods dated 1796 - 1949, a small red seal and a Relic Export certificate of the Beijing Cultural Relics Bureau (BCRB) are required to send an item out of China. Penalties for error are severe, so keep your receipts and all other documentation.

There are actually dozens of places in Beijing to buy antiques, cool kitschy reproductions, and what can only be described lovingly as "tat." Here are the four of the biggest:

Hong Qiao - Pearl Market

Also known as "Hard Bargain House," Hong Qiao is neatly arranged into sections on the various floors, and after its mid-1990s renovation is a place you can buy almost anything.

Originally mostly a fresh-food and household items market, both the basement and ground floor still largely serve their original functions, which adds a neat possibility to a Hong Qiao visit: the wet market downstairs from the entrance is fascinating, especially if you've never seen one "Chinese style" before.

On the ground floor just about everything you could imagine in the category "everyday items" is for sale. Pomade to pumps, hairnets to watch straps, it's all here.

On the second floor you'll find a huge selection of what we might euphemistically refer to as "reproductions."

The third floor is the famed Pearl Market, which shares namespace with the whole complex.

Caveat Emptor: some visitors go a little "pearl crazy" when they see the vast range of items available here; what you will find is good value pearl jewellery, what you won't be able to achieve are the grand schemes of cornering some part of the world pearl market that occurs to some mesmerised by the scale of this amazing place.

The top floor has high-end, top-quality pearls and jewellery. A BTM staff favourite is Ru Pei Pei, a store where you really can't go wrong in quality and service.

How to get there: Immediately north of the East Gate of the Temple of Heaven. A 10-yuan (US$1.21) taxi ride from Chongwenmen Subway Station. Open from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.

红桥市场

崇文区天坛东路

Panjiayuan - The Dirt Market

Once upon a time when a family fell on hard times here in Beijing, the shame of being forced to hock the family furniture meant that the sellers were keen not to be recognized in the act, with the inevitable loss of face involved. The solution for many was to do the selling very early in the morning, when darkness would shroud the dishonourable deed. And so the tradition of taking a torch with you to Panjiayuan, and arriving as early as 4:30 a.m. to snatch up the good stuff was born. These days the market is neither open that early nor is it only a weekend affair.

Even with the new extended hours, the best time to go is before noon on a Saturdays or Sunday. The 3,000-stall market is absolutely overflowing with curios, ceramics, antiques and reproductions, carpets, scrolls, and furniture from all over China. Spend a little extra time on the carvings - the range is extensive and if you are looking for a centrepiece it is hard to pass up a classic Buddha.

Caveat Emptor: as Panjiayuan is the setting for most of the wild fables about finding unrecognized valuables from the Yuan Dynasty (!) so too is it the centre of the vast inauthentic reproduction industry. There have been instances of real antiques being unmarked as such (and getting exporters into legal hot water) and also instances of reproductions being passed off as antiques, fake red seal and all.

How to get there: 100 metres west of the Panjiayuan Bridge on the Third Ring Road. Approx. 10-yuan (US$1.21) taxi ride from Guomao Subway Station (China World Trade Center). Open daily from 6 a.m. to 4 p.m.

潘家园旧货市场

北京市朝阳区潘家园路华威里18号

Liulichang Cultural Relics Street

This crowded hutong has a history that stretches back to the Yuan and Ming Dynasties, and is a great place to go for the traditional "four treasures of the study": calligraphy brushes, inks, ink stones and paper. The renovated streetscape, rebuilt in the 1980s in Qing style, is part of the pleasure of browsing here. Recently blocked off to cars, these days the whole experience is much more pleasant, as one can freely stroll the narrow lane. Many artisans man their own shops, so it is not unusual to hear expert sounds from an erhu coming from a music store, or to see Chinese watercolours in the process of being created.

Caveat Emptor: As with the buildings, the treasures on sale here are, almost without exception, recent copies. Do not believe the salesperson's patter that you've stumbled across real antiquity - tell a better story in return and bargain hard. An "old China hand" rule of thumb is this: anywhere that accepts credit cards is bound to be pricier than places that accept cash only.

How to get there: 15 minutes walk south of Hepingmen Subway Station. Open daily from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. - some stores open extended hours.

琉璃厂文化街

和平门南新华街\

Beijing Curio City

The biggest centre for curio trade in Asia, the charm of Curio City is that many of the stalls are run by people who have a real collector's love of what they do, rather than being just shop assistants.

Specializing in antique pottery, original paintings, jadeware and raw jade, bone carvings, antique furniture, pearls, antique carpets and antique time pieces, Curio City has something for people of all ages.

Caveat Emptor: Curio City is a supervised market, which does inspire a certain confidence, however for receipts to be useful here, as anywhere, they must bear the name of the store, the style and age of the antique, and the BCRB certification of the store.

How to get there: Just off the East Third Ring Road (to the west), about 15 minutes taxi ride south of Guomao Subway Station (China World Trade Center). Open daily from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

北京古玩城

朝阳区东三环南路21号