A couple of hundred metres from Panjiayuan, in the southeast of the capital, Huasheng Tianqiao market immortalises Beijing's culture and folkloric traditions.  Visit now before if disappears forever.

Famous for its antiques, any self-respecting tourist needs to visit Panjiayuan.  However, not far from Panjiayuan is another market, often overlooked by tour guides.  Tianqiao (skybridge) district was one of the cultural centres of the Chinese capital in 1912 at the beginning of the Republic of China.  Street acrobats, musicians and other street performers vie for the attention of the passersby, whilst Huasheng market offers everything you could hope to buy.

Along with other areas of Beijing, Huasheng market underwent the same fate as many other historic neighbourhoods - redevelopment.  It disappeared from the map.  Wang Shusheng, a famous Chinese painter, decided to do all he could to stop this last bastion of Chinese folk market die.  Through some sort of remarkable perseverance, he managed to get the market rebuilt in the traditional style, and selling the same products as before.

From an architectural point of view, the new Tianqiao looks exactly like any other ‘old Beijing' market.  The entire market is overshadowed by an enormous concrete flyover.  However, the main beauty of the market rests in the fact that atmosphere is so vibrant, and the array of goods on sale is so vast.  At the weekend, many Beijing families, as well as a number of senior citizens come out to have a bit of fun.  The calm is overwhelming. Huasheng Tianqiao is a world away from modern markets and consumer madness.