2008-3-06 13:45
Situated west of Panjiayuan Bridge and south of the East Third Ring Road, the Panjiayuan Antiques Market is very accessible. The market deals mainly in antiques and arts and crafts. It also has the reputation of being the most inexpensive antiques market in Beijing, attracting foreign and domestic tourists.
Whether you want to sightsee, window-shop or buy collectors' items, there really is something for everyone. Even Hilary Clinton has famously shopped at Panjiayuan.
With so many stalls selling similar items, this is a great place for bargain hunters. And although there are genuine articles to be found here, it is hard to tell the real deal from the fake, particularly if you aren't an expert.
Panjiayuan market covers an area of 4.85 hectares of land and accommodates over 3,000 stalls. It is the largest antiques market of its kind both in China and Asia.
It used to be a weekend-only market. But, after some refurbishment work, it is now open for business seven days a week. However, Saturdays and Sundays are still the best days to go.
Secondhand goods, arts and crafts and antiquities are the main transactions in the market. Also on offer are antique furniture imitations, what is known to the Chinese as the "Four Treasures of the Study" (writing brush, ink stick, paper and ink slab), old books and paintings, agate, jadeite, ceramics, ancient Chinese and foreign coins, bamboo and animal bone sculptures, leather puppets for shadow play and a wide range of Chinese opera masks.
Buddhist relics, costumes of ethnic minorities, apparels, "Cultural Revolution" (1966-76) articles and daily necessities can also be found here.
Traders from 24 provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions in China have stalls in the market, as do several ethnic minorities.
Panjiayuan market is truly a market packed with Chinese traditional culture.
Layout of the market
The market is divided into six parts:
In the western part of the market is an open-air area where large stone sculptures are sold out of trucks.
Next to this makeshift large sculptures section is a two-storied building that houses both modern and traditional furniture.
The vast middle section is a semi-covered area that forms the main part of the market. This section is open only at the weekends.
At the southernmost part is a narrow lane where secondhand books and ancient scrolls are sold. Cheaper less authentic versions of the same items can be found in some of the other stalls.
A range of other ancient arts and artifacts are on sale at stalls in the eastern part of the market in a big yard.
Highest-class antiques and more exquisite and more expensive handicrafts were sold in the small indoor stores, which surround the market in north and east.
And since the market opened, stalls in its semi-covered area of the middle part have been divided into four zones according to their items they have for sale.
How to get there
Location: 100m west of the Panjiayuan Bridge at the East Third Ring Road
Opening hours
8:30 - 18:30 from Monday to Friday
4:30 - 18:30 Saturday and Sunday
