shopping near Bejing
Apr 21st, 2004, 03:50 PM
#1
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shopping near Bejing
My husband might be going to China on business and will be near Bejing. He would like to know what I want him to bring back for me. I have NO clue.
Do they sell nice black pearls? I have beautiful simple earrings of good quality and would like a necklace. Where would be the best place for a good quality?
Do they sell nice black pearls? I have beautiful simple earrings of good quality and would like a necklace. Where would be the best place for a good quality?
Apr 21st, 2004, 04:38 PM
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I often wonder how this thing with Beijing and pearls got started. There are poor quality pearls and fake pearls in abundance at the Hong Qiao Market, opposite the north east corner of Tian Tan (the 'Temple of Heaven').
But nothing with an international tradable value is available cheaply in Beijing, which is not the place to shop for anything precious, semi-precious, or antique without a very detailed knowledge of what's fake (which almost everything is), and a good knowledge of prices at home. Good quality genuine pearls may be available in Beijing, but only at internationally compatible prices or higher.
How about silk? A search for that word using the box at the top of the page will produce the addresses of several reliable suppliers in recent postings.
Peter N-H
http://members.shaw.ca/pnhpublic/China.html
But nothing with an international tradable value is available cheaply in Beijing, which is not the place to shop for anything precious, semi-precious, or antique without a very detailed knowledge of what's fake (which almost everything is), and a good knowledge of prices at home. Good quality genuine pearls may be available in Beijing, but only at internationally compatible prices or higher.
How about silk? A search for that word using the box at the top of the page will produce the addresses of several reliable suppliers in recent postings.
Peter N-H
http://members.shaw.ca/pnhpublic/China.html
Jun 3rd, 2004, 05:33 PM
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Robbiegirl-I pretty much have to agree with Peter N-H as to QUALITY Pearls- but as to "cheap" pearls-heck, the Hong Qiao market is good for that. Only problem is that the market is pretty far out of the way of central Beijing-it's near the Temple of Heaven, and it takes a while to get there-If you want to get something of value, I'd say jade would be the better bet, but I'm telling you, you're not going to get rock bottom prices for any sort of jewelery in Beijing, or elsewhere in China, really. Beijing is not Bangkok, and China is not Thailand. But Beijing, IS fabulous-it's the happening place to be.
Jun 3rd, 2004, 07:23 PM
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Unless you choose to travel in the thick of the rush hour, the Hong Qiao market is perhaps ten minutes by taxi from the centre of the city--hardly a major trek.
As for the advice on jade, I repeat, 'nothing with an international tradable value is available cheaply in Beijing'. China is not even a major source of jade, nor has it been for centuries, actually importing it mostly from Burma, although some pieces came from Xinjiang. There are several types of stone with sufficient similarity to jadeite and nephrite (the two stones called jade) to fool the non-specialist, and all cheaper and easier to work than the real thing. So most of what you'll see is fake.
China imports jade from New Zealand, British Columbia, and elsewhere, and thus even the real thing, in the very unlikely event you actually find it, will not be cheap.
The Hong Qiao pearls, however poor in quality (and very often not actually pearls at all) are still overpriced to the foreign visitor. The price tag may seem low, but it still represents poor value for what you actually get.
Nothing has changed since Juliet Bredon wrote in the 1920s:
'Approach all curios, and most dealers, with caution. A thief may be considered innocent till he is proved guilty, but a first-class K'ang Hsi vase (according to the merchant) should be held guilty of fraud till it is proved to be above suspicion by some one who knows and is disinterested... Whenever a Chinese offers to let a good piece go at a sacrifice, be sure that the sacrifice is on the side of the buyer and the victim is the customer, not the shopkeeper.'
As with vases, so with 'pearls', 'jade', carpets, and any other valuable item. The Chinese are the most sceptical shoppers in the world, knowing the morals of their merchants. Foreigners don't stand a chance, unless they keep their wallets firmly in their pockets.
Back to silk, I say.
Peter N-H
http://members.shaw.ca/pnhpublic/China.html
As for the advice on jade, I repeat, 'nothing with an international tradable value is available cheaply in Beijing'. China is not even a major source of jade, nor has it been for centuries, actually importing it mostly from Burma, although some pieces came from Xinjiang. There are several types of stone with sufficient similarity to jadeite and nephrite (the two stones called jade) to fool the non-specialist, and all cheaper and easier to work than the real thing. So most of what you'll see is fake.
China imports jade from New Zealand, British Columbia, and elsewhere, and thus even the real thing, in the very unlikely event you actually find it, will not be cheap.
The Hong Qiao pearls, however poor in quality (and very often not actually pearls at all) are still overpriced to the foreign visitor. The price tag may seem low, but it still represents poor value for what you actually get.
Nothing has changed since Juliet Bredon wrote in the 1920s:
'Approach all curios, and most dealers, with caution. A thief may be considered innocent till he is proved guilty, but a first-class K'ang Hsi vase (according to the merchant) should be held guilty of fraud till it is proved to be above suspicion by some one who knows and is disinterested... Whenever a Chinese offers to let a good piece go at a sacrifice, be sure that the sacrifice is on the side of the buyer and the victim is the customer, not the shopkeeper.'
As with vases, so with 'pearls', 'jade', carpets, and any other valuable item. The Chinese are the most sceptical shoppers in the world, knowing the morals of their merchants. Foreigners don't stand a chance, unless they keep their wallets firmly in their pockets.
Back to silk, I say.
Peter N-H
http://members.shaw.ca/pnhpublic/China.html
Jun 3rd, 2004, 08:06 PM
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Peter-what you say may all be true-and yes, I did go at rush hour, and it did certainly take longer than 10 min. something on the order of 40 minutes. But as for pearls, well I'm no novice at bargaining-I got a lovely pair of pinkish pearl earring studs for about 8 dollars-WHICH WAS FINE FOR ME-I think they started at around $30, and I looked at them like they were crazy. Now, having said that, I can tell you that I could get a similar pair in S.F. Chinatown for probably about $18-great deals on Chinese souvenirs in San Fran.'s Chinatown, by the way! I think a far better place to buy is in Xi'an. There are a lot of antique porcelain pieces there from the late Qing dynasty at some pretty good prices IF you present with knowledge on the subject-very important, otherwise, you'll get ripped off for sure. I don't think much of the quality of Chinese silk-Thai silk is infinitely better. But speaking of jade, I did buy a couple of pieces of red nephrite jade Qylin figures, -they're quite lovely-but not at all cheap.
Jun 4th, 2004, 02:10 PM
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I guess that there is nothing he should bring back to me then. Oh well. I do not need any cheap pearls nor do I want fake jade. I have nothing to request so maybe a surprise might be the best way.
