China Guide
Hebei
The antique market
Opening time: Daily 8am–5pm
Address: Shandong Lu
A great attraction even if you have no intention of buying, the alleys of the antique market are lined with dark, poky shops, pavement vendors with their wares spread out in front of them on yellowed newspapers, and stallholders waving jade and teapots in the faces of passers-by. The market expands and contracts according to the time of year (small in winter, big in summer) but it's always at its largest on Sundays, swelled by Beijingers here for the weekend. It's generally cheaper than any in the capital, though you will have to look hard for a bargain.
The variety of goods on display is astonishing: among the standard jade jewellery, ceramic teapots, fans and perfume bottles are Russian army watches, opium pipes, snuffboxes, ornate playing cards, old photographs, pornographic paintings and rimless sunglasses. Look out for the stalls selling picture postcards of revolutionary dramas depicting synchronized ballet dancers performing graceful, mid-air leaps with hand grenades. Bargaining is mandatory; be aware that some of the stuff is fake.