A Shopaholic's Guide to Beijing's Markets

Over 20 million people now live in Beijing, and the Silk Street Market (Xiushui Market) and Pearl Market (Hongqiao Market) are two of the Chinese capital's most famous shopping destinations, each offering a unique experience.

Tailors, tranquillity, and a taste of Kiwi

Located in Chaoyang District, Silk Street Market is a multi-storey shopping mall known for its silk products, tailor-made clothing, cashmere and leather goods, shoes, watches, and traditional handicrafts with hundreds of retailers. Today the once open-air market is closer in feel to a typical western shopping mall with mostly individual stores.

Silk Street Market, also known as Xiushui Market, in Beijing's Chaoyang District/ image wikimedia

Possibly a sign of the changing economic times, Silk Street was a bit quiet when we visited, so it wasn’t quite the shopping buzz we were looking for, although I was tempted by the cheap prescription glasses and sunglasses, which can be ready for you within 30 minutes. For New Zealanders, there’s the must-visit novelty of the Flat White Café promising the best coffee in Beijing, with a distinct Kiwi flavour, including a familiar long-beaked soft toy at the counter.

The chaotic art of the deal

Situated in Dongcheng District, rather incongruously near the historic Temple of Heaven, the Pearl Market is named for its high-quality pearls, sold on the upper floors. However, this eight-floor, largely open-plan, chaotic consumerist complex also offers electronics, luggage, jade, clothing, shoes, tea, and much more. It’s a great place to find authentic Chinese jewellery and other traditional items, like jade, stone carvings, and handmade ‘chops’ (traditional stamps) with your name inscribed into them in moments.

Beijing's Temple of Heaven was declared a UNESCO World Heriage site in 1998/ image supplied

Both markets are known for bargaining, so when you visit, be prepared to negotiate for the best deals.

We spent more time at the Pearl Market as a full-on experience where bargains seemed to abound, with multiple vendors selling similar items, from replica branded sneakers to Apple-identical digital devices, and even ‘100% genuine’ Lego. There was also an extensive range of food options on the basement floor, from various styles of Chinese cuisine and ‘John Cena’ pizza to a KFC that served beef burgers and an actual Dairy Queen.

KFC has more outlets in China than the United States / image supplied

Tips for the beginner barterer

For the more introverted, it may feel more like performance art than shopping. But even if you’ve never haggled before, here’s how to hold your own. Most vendors in these two popular markets have some degree of English but even if they don’t, the shop assistant is likely to flourish a calculator and type in a starting price. You’re then expected to punch in your offer (start at about a third of their opening price). The vendor will usually come down a surprisingly large amount, and so on and so on.

It pays to do a little prep before you barter, to get an idea of the going rates for the items that you’re after. This gives you a reference point and helps you avoid overpaying. Be polite but firm – smile, joke, keep it light, and never lose your cool. If the price hits a sticking point, try walking away … you may get called back with a better offer.

Be wary of vendors physically detaining you, by cornering you in their shop or even grabbing your arm and not letting go. It helps to have a travel buddy ready to get you out of tight corners and dark recesses of shops, surrounded by keen vendors opening never-ending boxes of ‘designer’ handbags or getting Birks and Samba shoes for you. My daughter proved an expert wingwoman, whisking me away from over-zealous sellers when negotiations got too enthusiastic, or I showed too much interest in yet another ‘genuine’ leather handbag. My big sister was alone when she was cajoled into buying ‘real silk’ scarves that she didn’t really want for hundreds of yuan. (She looks lovely in them.)

Dupes and deals

Quality varies, so inspect everything closely. Real pearls have a slight grittiness when rubbed against your teeth, while jade is heavier than glass, has different opacity, and the stone sounds different when clinked. Open packaging and inspect electronics if you can – my brother-in-law was able to return some headphones that didn’t fit properly and swap them the next day.

Footwear,handbags,electronics and watches are amongst the most-counterfeited items in China / image amc

For clothing and shoes, check the stitching, fabric feel, and zip quality, especially for tailored items. Do a quick spellcheck – we spotted replica UGG boots labelled ‘UGC’ and otherwise perfect dupes of HOKA BONDI 8 trainers branded ‘RDNDI B’, and countless other mistranslations. A not-quite-Dyson supersonic hairdryer was packaged as ‘leafless’ rather than bladeless technology. Incidentally, vendors may throw in the right plug adaptor, to sweeten the deal.

While there’s been a crackdown on copycat items, if you're after a knockoff Louis Vuitton purse, just ask and it will magically appear from a stack of boxes. I was told by a vender not to bother with the many ‘no good’ bags on display as she dragged me to look at her hidden away designer bags. The vendors love to show off the quality of their ‘real leather’ goods by waving a lighter under it (NB: this is not something they offer to do with shoes).

Cash and apps to pay

Most vendors use WeChat Pay and/or Alipay so make sure you have those apps loaded and ready on your phone (note: there’s a different version of Alipay in mainland China to Hong Kong). However, as my tweenage daughter delighted in discovering, cash is great for negotiating smaller purchases. She thoroughly enjoyed the dramatic art of haggling for a skirt by way of calculator and waving cash to drive a hard bargain (or perhaps not too hard, as the vendor turned ‘best friend’ happily posed for selfies with her afterwards).

A "New Zealand Coffee " outlet in Beijing, complete with stuffed toy Kiwi on the counter / Image supplied

Speaking of drama, because of the location close to the Temple of Heaven World Heritage site that dates back several centuries, you may witness the past meet the present as women and children adorned in historical Hanfu outfits stop at Pearl Market’s modern food court after taking selfies at the Temple.

If haggling isn’t your thing…

If the markets seem too intense, more Western-style shopping complexes with set prices abound and are worth a visit, with the New World Department Store within walking distance (or short DiDi ride) from the Pearl Market. Complete with international brands like Gap, Uniqlo, and Yoyoso, there’s even an ice rink in the centre which you can view from the mall’s upper levels as skaters practice their twirls below.

Above all, have fun and lean into the chaos: market adventures offer more than shopping or bargain hunting; they’re cultural deep dives for the curious and bold.

Asia Media Centre