The city's great weekend antique and curio market — porcelain, jade, Mao-era ephemera, furniture, calligraphy and carpets across a huge covered ground.
Best time: Saturday and Sunday from 04:30; weekdays are much smaller
Cost: Budget–Mid
Watch outAssume every 'antique' is a reproduction — the market is understood locally as a reproduction market. Genuine antiquities over 100 years old cannot legally leave China without a cultural relics permit.
2. Silk Street Market (Xiushui)
Photo: Flickr user Andy Barnes · CC BY-SA 2.0 · source
The multi-floor market near the embassy district — silk, tailoring, pearls, apparel and electronics, all heavily negotiated.
Tip: The tailoring floor makes suits and qipao in two or three days and is the genuine reason to come. Opening prices elsewhere run five to ten times the settling price.
Watch outBranded goods are counterfeit throughout. Sellers grab arms and follow buyers down the aisle; a flat 'no' and continued walking is normal and expected.
Watch outThe 'art student' and 'tea ceremony' approaches operate here: a friendly English-speaking pair invite you to an exhibition or teahouse, and the bill arrives at several hundred euro. Decline invitations from strangers on this street.
Beijing's luxury addresses — SKP in Guomao is among the highest-turnover department stores in the world; Taikoo Li is the open-air flagship district in Sanlitun.
