Panjiayuan Market in Beijing

This is a personal travelogue from Ron Gluckman who is an American reporter based in Beijing, who roams around Asia for a number of publications, such as Silk Road. This web page is a summary of his report about Beijing’s Dirt (cheap) Street Market named Panjiayuan Market.

Panjiayuan used to be a weekend-only market where only early birds who arrived at the crack of dawn could be sure of getting the best bargains from the sprawling mass of antiques, art, books and general kitsch. But now, Panjiayuan has been spruced up, with proper indoor stalls set up, and is open seven days a week, although Saturdays and Sundays are still the best days to go.

There are definitely treasures to be found here, but it is hard to tell genuine antiques from worthless fakes. So beware. As with most markets, bargaining is the name of the game. Decide the maximum price you want to pay and start about 20% lower to give yourself some leeway to bargain.