This is my final project looking at Chinese shopping markets. China has a large variety of shopping markets. Due to my limited time, I focused on a couple different ones: three in Beijing plus one in a more rural setting.
Xiding
World of Different Nationalities Market (located in Xidan area)
I stumbles on this market while walking around the Xidan area, largely because of its name. I still do not know where the name comes from since I did not see any stores with distinct items from Chinese nationalities, but it was interesting nonetheless. Surrounded by numerous large modern shopping malls, this market with a large open courtyard provides a much more relaxed atmosphere than many of the other markets in Beijing. The items sold varied from clothing to luggage to small accessories, but not too much of the typical Chinese collectibles found at many other markets. Although its location seems to make it appeal to both locals and foreigners, it is rather discrete and I wonder if its one story setting will soon be replaced with another six story shopping mall.
Xiushuijie
More commonly referred to as "Silk Street," this market has a history of over 20 years starting out as a single story street market, before being demolished and rebuilt into its current multistory structure in 2005. Silk Street sells a variety of clothing, jewelry, and Chinese collectibles. This market is targeting largely towards tourists which the prices and approach of the vendors really shows. On any given weekend, you can see a line of tourist buses parked in front of the market. Over the past couple of years, Silk Street has had problems with counterfeit goods. This story from the Asia Times Online talks about a lawsuit in 2005 from five world-famous brands against the market. Silk Street's solution to this is to launch their own Silk Street brand of clothing, teacups, and collectibles, although it has not become very popular yet.
I started out by looking at a small village in Yunnan's Xishuangbanna Dai Autonomous Region. On most days, the two streets which run through the town are fairly empty with the small population working in the pu'er tea fields which surround this town in its hilly location. Every Thursday morning, however, the town transforms into a large market for the surrounding area. People of the surrounding villages converge in Xiding to buy and sell their products for the following week. The items sold in the Xiding market are largely necessity items (food, basic clothing, cooking utensils, etc.) with the occasional vendor selling CDs, playing cards, and other pieces of entertainment. One of the town's largest appeals is the variety of ethnic minorities which attend the market. Although they are present at the market as both buyers and sellers, they are not selling any of their culture specific clothing or crafts, which appeared to disappoint a couple fellow tourists. The ideal visitor to this market is one who expects it to be a unique viewing experience, rather than an opportunity to take away a souvenir.
Panjiayuan Folk Culture Market
Panjiayuan, more commonly called the "antique market" or "dirt market," has a history dating back to 1992. Over 4000 shop owners and nearly 10,000 shop assistants sell a variety of furniture, handicrafts, ornaments, and cultural revolution relics, but is most associated with its large selection of antiques (some real some not). Although the market is open 365 days a year, Saturdays and Sundays are the most popular attracting as many as fifty to sixty thousand visitors in a weekend. Many of these visitors arrive as early as 4 or 5am when many of the best deals are said to be made. Panjiayuan's website, as well as other Beijing marketing materials, marks the large market to be one of the three essential experiences of visiting Beijing, along with eating Peking roast duck and climbing the Great Wall. The market clearly has many features which cater to foreign travelers and is currently undergoing some more design changes to give it the typical "traditional Chinese" look that you see at so many other tourist spots. Despite this, because of its variety of items and reasonable prices after bargaining, it attracts locals and foreigners alike.
Panjiayuan Folk Culture Market
Panjiayuan, more commonly called the "antique market" or "dirt market," has a history dating back to 1992. Over 4000 shop owners and nearly 10,000 shop assistants sell a variety of furniture, handicrafts, ornaments, and cultural revolution relics, but is most associated with its large selection of antiques (some real some not). Although the market is open 365 days a year, Saturdays and Sundays are the most popular attracting as many as fifty to sixty thousand visitors in a weekend. Many of these visitors arrive as early as 4 or 5am when many of the best deals are said to be made. Panjiayuan's website, as well as other Beijing marketing materials, marks the large market to be one of the three essential experiences of visiting Beijing, along with eating Peking roast duck and climbing the Great Wall. The market clearly has many features which cater to foreign travelers and is currently undergoing some more design changes to give it the typical "traditional Chinese" look that you see at so many other tourist spots. Despite this, because of its variety of items and reasonable prices after bargaining, it attracts locals and foreigners alike.
World of Different Nationalities Market (located in Xidan area)
I stumbles on this market while walking around the Xidan area, largely because of its name. I still do not know where the name comes from since I did not see any stores with distinct items from Chinese nationalities, but it was interesting nonetheless. Surrounded by numerous large modern shopping malls, this market with a large open courtyard provides a much more relaxed atmosphere than many of the other markets in Beijing. The items sold varied from clothing to luggage to small accessories, but not too much of the typical Chinese collectibles found at many other markets. Although its location seems to make it appeal to both locals and foreigners, it is rather discrete and I wonder if its one story setting will soon be replaced with another six story shopping mall.
Xiushuijie
More commonly referred to as "Silk Street," this market has a history of over 20 years starting out as a single story street market, before being demolished and rebuilt into its current multistory structure in 2005. Silk Street sells a variety of clothing, jewelry, and Chinese collectibles. This market is targeting largely towards tourists which the prices and approach of the vendors really shows. On any given weekend, you can see a line of tourist buses parked in front of the market. Over the past couple of years, Silk Street has had problems with counterfeit goods. This story from the Asia Times Online talks about a lawsuit in 2005 from five world-famous brands against the market. Silk Street's solution to this is to launch their own Silk Street brand of clothing, teacups, and collectibles, although it has not become very popular yet.
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