Panjiayuan Antique Market is an all year round, gigantic outdoor market in Beijing, China. There are hundreds of small businesses and individual sellers in the market everyday. While businesses have small counters, most individual sellers set up impromptu ‘store fronts’ on the ground. Antiques, gemstones, paintings and bric-a-brac of every sort are sold here.
It is exciting, yet overwhelming, to walk through the market and to browse through the myriad of goods for sale. But Panjiayuan Antique Market epitomizes the caveat that the buyer beware, as the authenticity and quality of the wares can be suspect and the vendors very aggressive; a successful shopper must possess a keen eye and savvy haggling skills.
To people not accustomed to Chinese local markets, Panjiayuan Antique Market can be overwhelming in its organized chaos—a bustling place where the conflicting interests of buyer and seller collide amidst a dazzling array of exotic colors, sights and sounds. Locals favor semi-precious jewelry more than antiques, which are more geared towards tourists. To vendors and marketplace workers, it is a place where they work, hang out, nap and try their best to scrap out a living.
It is exciting, yet overwhelming, to walk through the market and to browse through the myriad of goods for sale. But Panjiayuan Antique Market epitomizes the caveat that the buyer beware, as the authenticity and quality of the wares can be suspect and the vendors very aggressive; a successful shopper must possess a keen eye and savvy haggling skills.
To people not accustomed to Chinese local markets, Panjiayuan Antique Market can be overwhelming in its organized chaos—a bustling place where the conflicting interests of buyer and seller collide amidst a dazzling array of exotic colors, sights and sounds. Locals favor semi-precious jewelry more than antiques, which are more geared towards tourists. To vendors and marketplace workers, it is a place where they work, hang out, nap and try their best to scrap out a living.
