Antique Markets in China: A guide

Buying antiques in China can be very rewarding as long as you are aware of some of the risks involved. Firstly, most of the stuff for sale is fake. Even if something looks real, it’s probably fake. Unless you have some knowledge of the kind of item you wish to buy, you should assume that something is probably fake. Now this may be fine. If the item is pretty and has meaning to you, go ahead and get it. But when you bargain for it, make sure you pay the fake price for it, not the real price.

There are some easy ways to avoid buying fakes. One of the easiest is to buy from someone that has an actual shop rather than someone set up on the ground. But still be careful. Shops in tourist areas are still likely to be stocked with fakes. Go for the shops in actual antique markets as these are run by actual dealers. Once you’ve been around a few of these markets you get a sense of what the stuff is like. You often see the same stuff over and over again. That stuff is likely fake. The really unique stuff is more likely to be real.

On market days, you should look at what the person is selling and what the person is like. Some of the people are clearly peasants from the countryside and often have an eclectic selection of items. You can often get very good deals from these kinds of people, simply because they don’t know how much something should cost and they (in my opinion) are more likely to have real stuff than the city dwellers.

The best day to go to the antique market is on market day. Once a week, people without a permanent presence at the market will come and hawk their wares. For selection and deal-potential, this is the time to visit. Most markets are half-closed on other days. Also, some markets are better than others. For atmosphere, the Tianjin one is tops due to its location in the streets of an old neighborhood. For actual goods, the Xi’an market is by far the best. I was also quite impressed by the one in Xuzhou. Avoid Panjiayuan at all costs! Is now only for tourists. For a real experience in Beijing, go to Baoguang Temple.

Market Days (that I know of):
Beijing (Baoguang Temple): Thursday
Beijing (Panjiayuan): Saturday and Sunday
Changchun (Not sure what it's called): Sunday
Tianjin (Shenyang Dao): Thursday
Xi’an (Baxian Temple): Sunday
Xuzhou (Pubu Shan): Saturday

Other Antique Markets with unknown days:

Chengdu
Hangzhou
Suzhou