Jun 7th, 2010 Contributed by: Ivette Figueroa

BEIJING, PRC — The Panjiayuan or Dirt Market is a living, breathing, giant mass. An entity that swallows you whole with its endless stalls and picnic blankets of trinkets.

Ceramic Buddahs, pipes, dolls, feng shui compasses, calligraphy brushes, carpets, watercolors, pottery, masks, coins, ancient weaponry — all jockey for position on every available crevice.

There are no fans. No air-conditioning. Just a smattering of umbrellas to shield the picnic blanket vendors and two giant, pillar-supported shelters. The outer perimeter is made up of enclosed stores, but the prices are multiplied by the added benefit of walls.

With more than 3,000 shop owners, this chaotic arrangement of goods happens every weekend in the Chaoyang District.

Fakes: Are they worth it?

Every guidebook likes to hint at the slim possibility of finding little nuggets tucked among the sea of pebbles, but are the pebbles themselves worth buying?

“The reproductions are visible,” said Marc Echinne, 46, a Parisian native. “Sometimes they’re not very good quality — quite coarse — but sometimes some are tricky. It depends on what you’re looking for.”

“There’s a lot of cheap, mass-manufactured junk,” said Lisa Murray, 26, from Australia. “If you’re into that kind of thing, sure — as long as you don’t believe that they’re real.”

“It depends on what you’re buying. I’d say even the real stuff you might second guess the quality,” said Californian tourist Evan Easton, 26.

A tough bargain

The Panjiayuan market is notorious for vendors who jack up their prices up to 10 times the amount its worth.

Whether it is a product of the times, the competition, or the possibility of tricking waiguoren (“outside country people”) into paying more, the order of the day is tough bargaining.

“The bargaining process is very easy compared to other countries,” said Dane Murray, 28, Lisa’s shopping companion at the dirt market. “They start way too high and drop really low.”

“When you’re bargaining, you don’t try to undercut them too much or they will get insulted,” said Michael Ramey, 29, from Pennsylvania. “I had one guy from the Silk Market get pretty violent — he threw the calculator at me, cursed the day I was born, and kinda chased me out of the booth.”

“I’ve done small amounts of shopping, bargained quite a lot, but I got what I wanted,” said Echinne. “I’m used to the bargaining process, but you don’t have to rush to get what you want.”

It seems as though every tourist arrives prepped with enough bargaining savvy to put many of these stalls out of business.

Several vendors can be seen snoozing behind their stalls, catching up on the daily news, or simply staring out at the wandering crowds unenthusiastically.

“It’s hard to do business now-a-days,” said a scroll vendor as she stuffed a few meager bills into her black pouch.

What’s so special?

The Panjiayuan market has been peddling its “antiques” and handicrafts since 1992, but Beijing and other cities in China are renowned for its countless markets: The Hongqiao Pearl Market, the Silk Market, Beijing Curio City, just to name a few. With an overabundance of places to shop, what makes the dirt market stand out?

“I like the atmosphere,” said Echinne. “It’s not such a special tourist thing despite the fact that it’s a well known place now.”

“Bargaining is easy in some places, like here,” said French tourist Godet Alex, 35, “and some they just don’t want to bargain. The price is the price.”

“The dirt market is quite pretty to take pictures—that’s it,” said Italy native Giovanni Ponzoni, 31. “I didn’t like anything here. I would recommend this place to tour—to buy, I don’t know.”

The bottom line

Is the Panjiayuan a good stop on your next market-hopping adventure? To some, the dirt market is an over-rated collection of attic junk. To others, it is a colorful and lively venue to spend a few hours browsing.

“I would recommend this place if you’re looking for reproductions,” said Lisa Murray.

“It’s worth it to see the area,” said Echinne.

“Too much junk,” said Dane Murray. “Hasn’t been really impressive, really.”

“It’s interesting. It’s got things you couldn’t find in other places,” said Sican Baker, 36, from Israel. “It’s like a little museum.”

Reposted from The China Journalism Project, University of Miami: labs.com.miami.edu/china

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