BeijingPanjiayuan Market－Dirt Market

 Beijing’s Panjiayuan Market, also known as the Dirt Market and Antiques Market, is considered by many to be the city’s ultimate flea market. While many stalls seem to adhere to the “one man’s trash is another man’s treasure” mantra, visitors will inevitably come across something of interest to them if they dedicate themselves to even a short stroll through the numerous rows of stalls.

The market is notoriously large, even by Chinese standards, and draws vendors from many of the country’s provinces. Covering over 48,000 square meters, the market claims to have over 3,000 sellers on any given day, but that number surely swells during the weekend when the market’s capacity reaches its height.

It seems a certain focus on jewelry, beads, jade and carved wood is common at the market, but also expect to find more kitschy items than you ever knew even existed. That is what ultimately gives the market its charm and makes it a necessary stopping point for those that want to experience the ‘real Beijing’.

Prices often seem too good to be true, which is the norm for such markets, especially when compared to western standards. Don’t be fooled by the ubiquity of antiques though, many of them were probably just made last week. Ultimately though, if you can’t tell the difference then who’s to say anyone else will know better, and if they price is 10 percent of the what the real thing costs, well, that seems like a win-win situation for all.