Market economy

Best shopping markets in Beijing, China

Here’s a little fact for you: China’s economic system is called a ‘socialist market economy’.

I’m sure the academics who study global finances know what that means and would love to bore you for hours explaining it. Sadly, I am neither an economics academic nor do I have the time or the inclination to bore you for hours.

So instead I thought I would give you a look inside what we shall refer to as the ‘market economy’. And by using such a delicious little pun, I am referring to the markets that pop up at Panjiayuan in Beijing every weekend.

Jade jewellery, bronze buddhas and marble Maos – it’s all for sale in these warrens of trinkets, antiques and art.

There are apparently about 4,000 shops in the market, which has a dedicated area for Buddhist statues and a separate space for books.

In the main market, each alley sells a particular type of object.

You can get paintings in one, gold statues in another. Ceramics in one, wooden furniture in another.

As you walk through the plaza, each row of stalls presents another style of trinket to admire.

Panjiayuan Market translates literally to English as ‘Dirt Market’. Probably named for the cleanliness, it’s still appropriate when considering the price because this place is dirt cheap.

It’s not like the Silk or Pearl markets of Beijing, which seem to focus more on the fake designer goods and short-lasting clothes. The cheapness here is with the price, not on the quality (although fake antiques and baubles there are aplenty).

Bargaining is expected, of course, although the prices won’t drop by as much as you might hope.

Still, this place is a collector’s heaven. As well as the Chinese souvenirs, the vendors are selling all sorts of odds and ends that they’ve picked up somewhere – one person even had an old-school gramophone for sale.

You never know what someone might have tucked away behind the string of red lanterns at their stall.

So, this is the economy on which you should focus on a short trip to Beijing. One where the customer gets their money’s worth just from exploring and getting lost amongst the commerce of kitsch.

For the record though, if you were still interested, the ‘socialist market economy’ of China is described on Wikipedia as a model where “privately owned enterprises are a major component of the economic system, along with the central state-owned enterprises and collective township village enterprises”.

If that still doesn’t make any sense to you, don’t worry, it doesn’t to me either.

Just buy yourself some nice lanterns and cheap antiques at the Panjiayuan Market and don’t think about it a second longer!

The Panjiayuan Antiques Market

This is the best place to come for trinkets and souvenirs. Most of the market is only open on the weekend, so try to plan your itinerary around it.

There is a bit of haggling here but not as much as you might expect. Don’t be surprised if you can’t get the prices too much lower from where they start.

Here are the characters of the address to show a taxi driver:

潘家园古玩市场

And here is the location on a map:

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Yashow Clothes Market

This is one of the most convenient markets for cheap clothes because it’s right in the centre of Sanlitun (the ex-pat area), it’s not too crowded and the salespeople speak good English and aren’t too pushy.

There are five floors of clothes, bags, shoes, and accessories. You’ll have to bargain hard because the prices generally start quite high and the shop owners here think it’s going to be easy to cheat some foreign tourists.

Here are the characters of the address to show a taxi driver:

雅秀市场

And here is the location on a map:

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The Silk Market

This is a massive market with well over a thousand different stalls. You’ll find heaps of clothes and accessories here, although you may be disappointed at the variety amongst the different shops.

Be prepared to get harassed by the salespeople here, though. One friend described the pain in his arm from being grabbed so many times as ‘Chinese burn’.

This is definitely a place to bargain hard and that’ll be expected so there’s no such thing as a stupid offer.

Here are the characters of the address to show a taxi driver:

秀水市场

And here is the location on a map:

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The Pearl Market

You probably don’t need to do both the Pearl and the Silk Markets if you’re just looking for clothes and accessories. But the Pearl market has a lot more ‘things’ you can buy, from watches to electronic gadgets, phones and jewelry.

None of it is particularly good quality, so make sure you pay for what you get. There’s plenty here to choose from, though.

Here are the characters of the address to show a taxi driver:

虹桥市场

And here is the location on a map:

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