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Market Day

      Have you ever wanted to shop like a real Beijinger? Forget the expensive imported goods stores and fancy shopping malls, and head out to some of Beijing’s markets, where you can find everything you need for a fraction of the price, as I did on a day of market-only shopping.

      Most districts in the city have their own fresh food, or wet markets, but nowadays they are usually indoors, which is useful as they can trade for longer, and it’s considered to be more hygienic.

      But for a taste of a more traditional lifestyle, head to Tuanjiehu District, which still has an open air street market operating every morning from about 6:30 a.m. until 10 a.m. It’s a real focus for the local community, which includes many older residents among younger professionals and a sprinkling of expats. Go early to get the freshest fruit and vegetables, or go towards the end, when there may be bargains to be struck, although even Chinese regulars admit that the stallholders are tough negotiators and usually won’t bring their prices down by more than a few cents.

      If you start early, there are breakfast stalls selling typical Beijing breakfasts at each end of the market, so you can fortify yourself with a pancake or some soymilk before setting out to do your best haggling.

      The air is thick with cries of what goods each stall is selling, and their prices per jin—the Chinese measurement which is approximately equal to half a kilo—putting those who can speak Chinese at an advantage here. The atmosphere is very convivial, with neighbours and stallholders alike catching up on gossip while surveying a wide range of fresh fruit, seasonal vegetables, eggs, noodles, and even clothes and household items. The market runs the length of the tree-lined street: fruit at one end, vegetables at the other, and everything else in between.

      Liu Yufen, a local resident, remembers that the market started about 20 years ago. She comes here every morning to do her shopping because of the large variety of fresh vegetables which are on offer. She says it is also cheaper than the supermarket.  Mrs. Liu added, “It's very convenient for retired people like me, as we can come here after doing our morning exercise.”

      It’s not only retirees who like the market though; Jonah Guo, a student and house husband, comes out to get breakfast and fresh vegetables in the morning. “It’s cheaper and better quality than supermarkets,” he said.

      Following the morning market, I headed out to the Jingshen Wholesale Seafood Market, located in Beijing’s southern suburb of Fengtai. It’s a bit of a trek, but once there, you’ll be rewarded with the biggest selection of fish and seafood that landlocked Beijing can offer. In fact, you’d be forgiven for thinking that you were almost at the seaside, as you can smell the tang of the sea in the air before you can see the market itself. It’s a huge market, and the range of seafood and other aquatic products on sale is quite stunning. Some of the goods are obviously imported from quite far away. There are rainbow-coloured tropical fish, as well as Norwegian salmon to the Chinese belt fish. As the latter’s name implies, it’s a long thin fish which is commonly sold in China, but rather bony!

      The different stalls specialise in fish or seafood: some only sell one thing, such as crabs in all different shapes and sizes. There are tanks of live fish and in some cases quite large eels with fierce looking teeth, plus shellfish galore from the humble cockle to large lobsters. There are stalls of scallops and oysters of all different sizes, crayfish, squid, octopus, and stranger Chinese delicacies like sea urchins and sea cucumber. The vendors are friendly and will help a curious person who doesn’t quite recognise some of the more unusual creatures.

      Of course, it’s primarily a wholesale market; so it opens at about 3–4 a.m. The busiest time of the morning is when chefs from restaurants and hotels come out to get the best and freshest fresh of the day. The market is less busy during the day, but there is still a steady stream of locals coming into buy seafood. You can also buy cooking oil and spices at the market: everything you need for a seafood dinner at home, although, if you don’t fancy cooking yourself there are quite a few local seafood restaurants around the market itself.

      The last market of the day was the Sanyuanli market, which as well as being a local market for nearby residents, is also well known among both professional and amateur chefs and food lovers in the capital.

      Among all the regular fruit and vegetables, you’ll also find items that can be quite expensive in Beijing. There are bunches of fresh herbs like basil (a large bunch will cost less than 10 yuan here) parsley, rosemary and oregano, while avocados, vine tomatoes,  red and yellow peppers, pumpkins and purple aubergines are all enticingly displayed by the vendors, who are extremely helpful and who speak some English. You may come away having bought more than you intended, as the vendors are very persuasive, but you may also find that they have slipped a little something extra into your bag when you get home: loyalty counts here it seems.

      Maggie Moore, a New Zealander, has been shopping at this market for two years, ever since she moved to Beijing. “I like the quality and range of the goods here,” she said, “and the stallholders remember me when I come back. It’s much cheaper than buying at the expat supermarkets and the service is better.”

      The market also has stalls that sell seafood, meat, tea and dried goods, and even a small shop selling imported cheese, olive oil, coffee and pasta.

      And at the end of a full day of market shopping, I had a fridge full of the freshest produce purchased at a fraction of the supermarket price.

      The Tuanjiehu morning market is on Tuanjiehu Zhonglu, behind the Chaoyang Gymnasium. The subway stations nearest the market are the Tuanjiehu or Hujialou stations on Line 10, then walk about 10–15 minutes to the market. Go any morning at 6:30–10 a.m.

      The Dahongmen Jingshen Wholesale Seafood Market is in Fengtai District. Take subway Line 5 to the southern terminus at Songjiazhuang station. The market is a short (10 yuan) taxi ride from there. Non-local taxi drivers may not know the way; you may have to ask more than one. The market is at the junction of Guangcai Lu and Nanding Lu.

      The Sanyuanli Market is just inside the northeastern Third Ring Road and west of the Westin Chaoyang hotel on Xinyuan Nanlu. The entrance can be hard to find, as it’s inside the community, but ask a local if you have trouble. The nearest subway station is Liangmaqiao on Line 10.