Antiques are wide in variety, including bronze ware, bullion ware, porcelain, jade article, calligraphy and painting, stone inscriptions, and so on. They were originally just decorations, but nowadays they are used for research and collection.The antique trade is comparatively unique; from door decorations to store furnishings, it is ancient and elegant and full of cultural flavor. In the past, a reputation is the most important to antique stores; grave digging or selling fakes is forbidden. Today, buyers and sellers have to distinguish real from fake with professional appraisal knowledge. Experts can not only judge the quality of an antique, but also its value.
Antique stores don’t have as many customers as other types of stores. However, there is the old saying: “no sales in three years, but one sale buys three years’ meals.” Though it’s an exaggeration, it contains a small bit of truth regarding the antique trade.
Antique store owners are not only knowledgeable but also have good manners in meeting customers. Communication is very important, since deals usually depend on reassuring conversations between sellers and buyers. Keeping customers is important as well, so desks and chairs are provided in antique stores for customers to have tea and chat; some even set aside special rooms for customers to appraise antiques quietly.
In some stores, antiques are separated into foreign and domestic ones, and are exported either to foreigners or sold to local customers.
Today, antiques are sold at auctions. But in the past, antiques were sold via secret bidding; the buyer who named the highest price would eventually get the antique. As a result, custom dictates that prices are not published.In the past, antique traders would gather together to perform appraisal, and the one with the worst appraisal would pay for the meal. It’s like today’s Antique Salon.
BeijingAntiques Buy
Panjiayuan Antiques Market:
Also called the "dirt market" or the "weekend market." It is the Beijing's first flea market of its kind. It is open on Sunday and Saturday. It is close to the Pan Jia Yuan bridge, on the eastern southern third ring road.
Liulichang Antique Street:
This street is full of antique stores that sell Chinese paintings, handicrafts, as well as used books and other things.
Gu Wan Cheng ( Curio City ):
Just next to Pan Jia Yuan, it's a 4-storey building with various Chinese antiques and reasonable prices.
Hong Qiao Free Market:
Just east of the east gate of Temple of Heaven. The top two floors are full of fresh water pearls, jewelry, and this may be the most ideal place in Beijing for these kinds of goods.
Author: Xu Shenglan