Located in the South East of Beijing, Panjiayuan is considered Asia's biggest antique market. If it is difficult to distinguish the authentic artifacts amongst the fake ones, this market remains a must see for all artifact lovers. Discovery.  

It is called antique market or flee market. But whatever its name Panjiayuan remains a favorite for all of Beijing's artifact lovers. Located to the south of the third east ring road, it is known as the cheapest of Beijing's markets and the biggest of its kind in Asia. Every day, the 3 000 stalls covering 4.85 hectares bring about a throng of insiders and foreigners desperate for good deals.     
 
At first, Panjiayuan was an illegal market led by small retailers where poor Beijingers could come and sell artifacts belonging to their family. Located in a small alley in Chaoyang, to the east of Beijing in 1980, it was then moved to a wood close to its current whereabouts before being authorized by the police in 1995. 

9:50am, a Saturday of the end of December. It is biting cold. Taxis fill Panjiayuan street. The sidewalk is covered with tricycles, merchandise boxes, bicycles, uniformed schoolchildren and people warmly dressed. Once through the entry gate, you are greeted by a longitudinal wall with the name of the market written in golden Chinese characters.

In the East of the market, the heart of the place beats madly. The buyers scurry around the closely arranged stalls that form a semi covered aria. The alleys, parallel and narrow are divided into four sections and organized by the nature of their products. Even if sometimes it is difficult to distinguish these clearly. That is how the first section mainly sells emeralds, jade, calligraphy and paintings, as well as artisanal painted or bamboo made artifacts. The fourth section is the paradise of teapots and other trays used for the Tea Ceremony as well as ornamental stones.  

A journey through time

On the other hand, the second section seems more modest.  Here, there are no overstocked trestle tables.  A few assorted objects are placed on the floor or on blankets.  People are playing cards.  Paper accumulates in the ground.  The shoppers are attended to.  The third section is particularly worth seeing due to the range of hand-made ethnic Chinese products.  There are a lot of Tibetans dressed up in traditional costumes.

By contrast, the workshops arranged over two floors of traditional Chinese architecture, invite people to wander around.  There is a wide selection of quality calligraphy, crystals, antiques, old books, amongst other things, all at high prices which can guarantee a certain authenticity. A few magical chords of bamboo flute music can be heard echoing outside a music shop.  In the far East of the market, dealers in the second-hand part of the market display their wears; rusty coins, pieces of porcelain and other old objects.

In the West, a two storied department store offers a selection of wooden furniture, stamps, maps, paintings and various objects bearing Mao Zedong's figure.  Further on, variously sized and shaped stone statues are scattered around the vast grounds.  It's pretty in its randomness.