Shopping Bejing
 

where is the best selection of jewelry in beijing for gold and perals?

Pearl Market near Heavenly Palace is very good for pearls

The pearls at Hong Qiao (the 'pearl market') are either fake or of low quality, and only those quite expert in such matters should shop there, and then not expect to get prices significantly better than international norms. China is not the place to shop for precious and semi-precious item, antiques, or any expensive item unless you are very well versed in prices at home and in quality standards, in which case you are unlikely to anything you'll consider worth buying.

Peter N-H
http://members.axion.net/~pnh/China.html

The Pearl Market is great. I'm not a pearl expert, they all look the same to me, so the Market was right for me. I bought pearl bracelets for $1 and they came in a neat oriental drawstring bags. I bought 25 of them and gave them to all of my friends. They wear them all the time. I wish I had bought more. They will string anykind of pearls for you or create whatever you want. There are well over 100 stalls on the third floor, meet a vendor you like and work with them. Also, buy lots of velvet scarves and pillow covers. I got them for $1-$2 and wish I had bought more. Don't expect you are getting the real thing and you won't be disapointed. Don't let people scare you away from the market.

My daughters and wife also greatly enjoyed the pearl market. Peter is right that quality is not top drawer but for a nice, inexpensive lower quality necklace or cheap gifts they can't be beat. (well, maybe they could, the cheap stores just to the southwest of Tianamen Square had the cheapest gifts, some in both price and quality. My daughter bough a brand new skirt she likes for just 5 Yuan) Expect to bargain, of course the first price is far, far too high.
Wally