Panjiajyuan Antique Market is the largest antique art distribution centre and collectibles market in Beijing, and also is the most famous one in China.

The market lies to the southwest of Panjiayuan Bridge, Dongsanhuan Nanlu, Chaoyang District, Beijing. It covers an area of 48,500 square meters with four trading blocks -- the art ware canopy, old furniture, ancient and old calligraphy/paintings and old books, as well as curios areas. There are over 3,000 stalls in the market, and the dealers come from over 20 provinces, municipalities, and autonomous regions such as Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei. Besides dealers with a Han nationality, there are dealers from over a dozen ethic minorities such as Hui, Manchu, Miao, Dong, Uigur, Mongolian, Tibetan and Korean.

Panjiajyuan Antique Market in Beijing

Collectors often like to hunt antiques at temporary stalls. On Saturday and Sunday, the market is often crowded with people and vehicles, including expert antique hunters, window shoppers, local residents and foreigners. All kinds of languages and accents can be heard in the bustling market with noise and excitement.

Antique furniture imitations in Panjiajyuan Antique Market

When entering the roofed zone, you will find almost every kind of antiques at the stalls, including antique furniture imitations, "Four Treasures of the Study" (writing brush, ink stick, paper and ink slab), trinkets, ceramics, Chinese and foreign coins, ivory carvings, Buddhist ritual items, and curios from the "Cultural Revolution". Good and bad items are mixing together. There are real antiques and many fake items such as paintings from Ming and Qing dynasties, painting imitations after contemporary artists, fake earthenware, fake jade, and fake bronze vessels. Thus, when buying, you will have to be very cautious. You will never buy high-grade ceramics there, but sometimes it is possible to find some common items such as ceramics made in late Qing Dynasty and the Period of Republic of China, and some earthenware made in the New Stone Age and the Han Dynasty. With a lot of fake items, it is really a good place to learn and to enrich your knowledge. You can also take it as an opportunity to learn and improve your capability to tell the difference between real items and fake ones. Just pick up an item and observe it, but never say that it is real or fake.

An editor with lotour.com came to visit a stall and found an old door lock. The lock was an obvious fake item while the seller told it was a real one made in either late Ming Dynasty or early Qing Dynasty. The seller said he was a native of Beijing and had been trading REAL antiques there for a dozen of years. I have never really believed what the seller said, but I know there are a lot of fake antiques in the market.

The stall keepers inPanjiajyuan Antique Market have wide experiences and extensive knowledge. All kinds of people from heads of state to ordinary citizens have been there to buy items. Many of the sellers there can speak English, Japanese or German. Some keepers of temporary stalls are selling items there for a long run, while there are some new sellers coming from other places. The regular sellers often sellimitation antiques which always pile up in a great cone, and sometimes they also sell real antiques but such antiques are often in bad taste. The non-regular sellers often have some real antiques to sell and they are always good at pricing.

For collectors with free time and extra moneyin a leisurely and carefree mood,Panjiajyuan Antique Market is a place to cultivate their taste. Hunting antiques there is an experience of joy, luck and growth. However, money doesn’t grow on trees. Antique hunting needs expertise and luck, and it is even possible for some experts to take imitations as real. So as an amateur, you’d better do some window shopping rather than some real shopping.

Take your chance in Panjiajyuan Antique Market

A Stall inPanjiajyuan Antique Market

Panjiajyuan Antique Market is the most famous antique market in Beijing and can rank among top3 inChina. Basically, the foreigners coming to China for antique hunting are quite informed about Panjiajyuan Antique Market. Even those who have not been Panjiajyuan before also enjoy some knowledge about Panjiajyuan. Visitors come not only because antiques of each kind can be seen there but also because they can learn a lot about antiques there; after all, Panjiajyuan Antique Market is one of the most famous antique markets in China. To get a real antique, you have to depend on your own expertise and luck. For outsiders, there are various kinds of traditional cultural relicsin the market, including paintings and calligraphic works, Household Articles, classic furniture, "Four Treasures of the Study" (writing brush, ink stick, paper and ink slab), trinkets, ceramics, silver and gold items, coins and paper notes. There really is something for everyone. You can almost find each kind of items from every dynasty there in Panjiajyuan Antique Market, but the pricesquoted by the sellers are always rather high.

Panjiajyuan Antique Market was initially established as a flea market with a specific social and historical background. The flea market run by small traders was originally full of temporary stalls and booths, and now it has developed into such a large scale. Even nowadays, there are also some temporary stalls in the market which is similar to a wholesale bazar in China. However, there are really some good items there. The items of each kind can be bought there, no matter whether you have ever seen or imagined them or not.

There are too many not-so-real antiques inPanjiajyuan Antique Market. Nobody can call himself an expert there, as antique experts often bark up the wrong tree in the antique market. When visiting the market, you should come with a peaceful mind to see and learn. You’d better not try you chance to buy a “real” antique at a low price as the seller are trying to take their chance too.

Panjiayuan’s "ghost market"

It is said that “All the antiques are sold early in the morning; but to tell the real from the not-so-real, it depends on your own expertise.”Real expert buyers seldom visit Panjiayuan during the daytime. During the weekdays, most of the stalls have few visitors; when there are visitors, the dealers often treat them with indifference. Why is that? Don’t they really want to do any business? The canny buyers will find that the business hours of Panjiajyuan Antique Market from Monday to Friday are “8:00am to 18:00pm” while on Saturday and Sunday the stalls will open early at 4:30 am. Is there any secret?

As a matter of fact, both regular customers and the stall-keepers know that only Saturday and Sunday are the real dealing days. And although there are genuine articles to be found there, it is hard to tell the real deal from the fake, particularly if you aren't an expert, as the antique markets are full of fake items. Thus, you will have to go there during the weekend “ghost market” days if you want to collect some real antiques. Real expert buyers will only come on Saturday and Sunday, and only during those two days in a week the real and good antiques will be traded there. During the weekdays, the stall-keepers will show and trade some not-so-real items to visitors and foreigners, so you have to be prudent when buying something.

Business hours: Monday to Friday, 8:00 am to 18:00 pm; Saturday and Sunday, 4:30 am to 18:00 pm

How to get there:

By bus:

1. Take Bus 300, 300(Express), 957(Express 2), or 957(Branch Line 2), and get off at the Panjiayuan Qiaoxi Bus Stop;

2. Take Bus 28, 368, 627, 938 (Special line), 974, 976, or Yuntong 107, and get off at the PanjiayuanqiaoBus Stop;

3. Take Bus 674, 34, or 802, and get off at the Panjiayuan Qiaoxi Bus Stop.

By Subway: Take Subway Line 10, get off at the Jinsongqiao Station and walk to the south along the 3rdRing Road for 1 kilometer or so.

By car: Go along the side road of theDongsanhuan Nanlu towards Huawei Nanlu until you get to Panjiayuan.

Restaurants around Panjiayuan:

1. San Ge Gui Zhou Ren (Three People from Guizhou)

Address: First Floor Shop No. 0717, Building 7, Jianwai SOHO, No. 39, Dongsanhuan Zhonglu, Chaoyang District

Introduction: The restaurant’s name is interesting: simply indicating that it offers tasty and authentic Guizhou province favorites with sour and spicy flavors. It is said that all the food materials of the Sour Soup FishHotpotare transported by air from Guizhou, thus the soup has a strong fragrant flavor and the fish is tasty and smooth.

2. Lotus Thai Restaurant (China World Trade Center Branch)

Address: NB201, B2/F, China World Trade Center, 1 Jianguomenwai Dajie, Chaoyang District

Introduction: More than a half of all cuisines are related with curry and have a strong flavor. Tom Yam Kung (a kind of soup) is sour and spicy with a strong flavor of spices. The “must order” Fried rice with pineapple as a first choice for each time is really tasty. The price is really high there and the décor of the Gemini hall is quite unique.

3. Dongbei Xiangcun Renjia

Address: Building 11, Guanghua Dongli, Chaoyang District

Introduction: The Northeastern Chinese cuisine there is really very authentic, and almost every famous Northeastern Chinese cuisine can be found there. The dishes are big and the price is fairly reasonable. The cuisine is inexpensive in price while excellent in quality. The dinning environment is a little less enjoyable; nevertheless, it is quite clean and comfortable. It is ideal for casual dining occasions.

4. Baiwei Ziju

Address:1F, Times Internatioal, Dongbai Street, Shuangjing, Chaoyang District

5. Isshin Japanese Restaurant

Address:3F,BlockB, Ying Jia Center, Dongsanhuan Nanlu. Chaoyang District

Introduction: Those who are tired of the strong flavor of Sichuan and Hunan cuisines will find the Hangzhou cuisines there really tasty with a light flavor. All the dishes are exquisite and pleasing to the eye. Perch wrapped in tin foil is crisp outside and tender inside while stewed duck is really awesome.