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Dear Travellers
We’d like to have the following quick guide to remain updated for the benefit of new visitors who would like to go shopping at the markets in Beijing.
If anybody having used the piece finds necessary updates, please leave a message or feedback. Thanks!
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Plan your Beijing tour? If you are not interested in shopping at high-end Beijing shopping malls, where everything seems to be overpriced at fixed prices, then why not dig into the plentiful free or flea markets where you can enjoy bargaining with the local vendors.
If you are not familiar with the markets in Beijing, you may follow us to explore the top 10 Beijing markets below. I’m sure you will get what you want to enrich your Beijing trip.
Note: We have offered subway information on how to get to the following markets. You may use the Beijing subway map to guide you to get to these markets. Happy Shopping in Beijing!
One thing you should know is that Beijing’s overall urban blueprint has been in the process of adjusting, upgrading and standardizing. Many busy and noisy lively markets have been removed from the urban central areas and resettled in the relatively remote outskirts of Beijing.
Some lucky ones have been gentrified and placed indoors like Silk Market (now actually a huge 5-story mansion). Some of the vendors have been evacuating from the old market places and settled elsewhere. The golden “flea market” time in Beijing has been fading, gradually diluted by gentrification and disneyfication.
Normally all the markets are open all year round except Chinese Spring Festival. Most of the markets will be closed for 5 days during China Spring Festival (China’s lunar new year).
By the way, most of the department stores and shopping malls are still open during the biggest holiday in China. Most of the listed markets are mainly composed of private vendors who need to go home for family reunion for the big holiday.
Top 1: Silk Street Market 秀水街市场
Brief introduction: Placemaking in 1977. Renovation: 2019 ( JERDE is honoured to be part of the silk street renovation team). So the old silk street market has been demolished long before. The present Silk Street Market is actually a department-like store ( 5 above and 2 under ) with a floor area of 28,000 square meters.
There are now over 500 booths in the building. According to the developer of the building, the advantages of the old market are still kept intact in the present market, targeting the international tourists and local white-collar workers.
The Silk Street Market cover multiple kinds of goods, including clothing ( F2 and F3)； shoes and bags ( B1) ； silk, jewellery and handicrafts ( F4)；Coffee, Haute Couture / Jewellery/Clothing alteration service, art gallery ( F5), Grocery Supermarket ( fruit and vegetables at B2), which are favoured by consumers all over the world.
Location: 8 Xiushui East Street, Jianwai Dajie, Chaoyang, Beijing 北京市朝阳区建外大街秀水东街8号
Tel:：(010) 56767766
Opening Hours: 9am-9pm
Subway: take subway line 1 and get off at the station of Yonganli (永安里), and exit from Exit A
Public Transport: Bus No.1,9,28,37,43,120,126,403,639,640,668,728,and 729, arrival at Yonganli Station
Top 2: Panjiayuan Flea Market 潘家园旧货市场
Brief introduction: Panjiayuan Flea Market, or Panjiayuan Market, or Panjiayuan Antique Market, or whatever names you use, is a must for those who like something really Chinese. From Monday to Thursday, it is open from 8:30am to 6:00pm.
On weekend, it is open from 4:30am to 6:00pm. We suggest you go to Panjiayuan on weekends. Only on weekends, you will find some vendors coming from all parts of China to show their personal stuff or artifacts they collect and sell on the ground in a designated area in the market.
They just put a piece of blanket on the floor and put what they have on it.If you come here on other week days, you won’t see these free vendors. It is actually a huge market place for selling and collecting Chinese folk handcrafts, maybe the largest in Asia!
What you will see are jewellery, ceramics, calligraphy, teapots, ethnic clothing, Buddha statues, paper lanterns, Cultural Revolution memorabilia, PLA belts, Ming- and Qing-style furniture, old pipes, opium scales, and many more.
Check out Panjiayuan Flea Market for more information.
Location: No.18, Huaweili Road, just 100 meters west of Panjiayuan Bridge on the southeast third ring road.
地址：北京市朝阳区潘家园桥华威里18号
Tel: 5120-4671
Opening Hours: Monday to Thursday open from 8:30am to 6:00pm; On weekend, open from 4:30am to 6:00pm
Subway: take subway line 10 and get off at the station of Panjiayuan (潘家园）
Public Transport: Take bus 28, 300, 368, 607, 730, 810 or 907 and get off at Panjiayuan Station.
Top 3: Beijing Antique City 古玩城
Brief introduction: Beijing Antique City ( former Beijing Curio City) is a four-story building. It is located just to the west of Huawei Bridge on the southeast third ring road, about 300 meters south of Panjiayuan Flee Market.
It is the largest Chinese antique trade center in Asia.
Beijing antique city has a total floor space of 26400㎡. The building is elegantly decorated. At present it has antique over 600 dealers, mainly selling the classical furniture, the ancient clock and watch, the ancient rug, the ancient ceramics, the celebrity calligraphy and painting, the Baiyu ivory carving, the snuffbox.
It also offers the ancient rug, the copper ware image of Buddha, the ancient clock and watch, the ancient ceramic antique chinaware, the Tibetan cultural relic and much more.
Location: 21 Dongsanhuan Nan Lu, Chaoyang District, Beijing, China （located just to the west of Huawei Bridge on the east-south third ring road, about 300 meters south of Panjiayuan Flee Market.）
地址：北京市朝阳区东三环南路21
Tel: 010-5960901，59609011
Opening Hours: 10am-7pm
Subway: take subway line 10 and get off at the station of Panjiayuan (潘家园). Beijing Antique City is located to the south of Panjiayuan Flea Market.
Public Transport: Take bus 28, 300, 3 52, 378, 7 57, 830 or 986 and get off at Shilihe Station.
Top 4: Hongqiao Pearl Market 红桥市场
Brief introduction: The name of Hongqiao Pearl Market is a little bit misleading. This four-story building offers much more than just pearls. It actually provides everything from bags, shoes, clothes, silk, tea, table-cloth, toys, souvenirs, to pears and jewellery.
It is just located east of the Temple of Heaven. Its main entrance – the west gate faces the road across the Temple of Heaven. If you drive to the market, you are supposed to get off at its north side gate.
The market has four stories. The first floor sells digital products, timepieces and glasses, Groceries, mobile phone parts and daily necessities; the second floor offers clothes, shoes, cases and bags; the third floor provides pearls, jades and artifacts; the forth floor sells the high-end jewellery. Check out Hongqiao Pearl Market for more information.
Location: 9 Tiantan Donglu, Dongcheng District (just opposite the east gate of Temple of Heaven)
地址：东城区天坛东路9号
Tel: 6711-8984
Opening Hours: 8:30am-7pm
Subway: take Subway Line 5 and get off at the station of Tiantandongmen ( East Gate of Temple of Heaven 天坛东门). Then walk to the north you will see the market.
Take bus: 39, 43, 60, 116, 610
Top 5: Liulichang Antique Street 琉璃厂
Brief introduction: On both sides of the street there are about 100 storefronts and vendors’ stalls selling collectibles and art supplies, including woodblock prints, copies of famous calligraphy, historic paintings (reproductions) and more.
Rongbaozhai is one of Beijing’s top art shops and well worth browsing, actually Rongbaozhai is located on the west section of Liulichang Street. To get to Liulichang Xijie ( the west section of Liulichang Street) on your right side, you have to across the main street.
Rongbaozhai’s business scope is very wide, ranging from ink, paper and inkstone, to fan albums; from painting and seal cutting to mounting a picture scroll, almost everything from ordinary people to cultural celebrities, all of them are enthusiastic customers of Rongbaozhai.
Location: Liulichang Street, Xicheng District;
地址：西城区琉璃厂
Opening Hours: 8:30am-7pm
Subway: take subway line 2 and get off at the station of Hepingmen （和平门), and exit from the Exit C2 (check old Beijing Walking Tour for more information.)
Bus No.s 6, 14, 15, 25, 50, 53, 57, 102 and 105.
Top 6: Shilihe House Building Materials City 十里河家居建材城
Are you going to upgrade your home in Beijing? No matter you are a do-it-yourselfer or would like outsource your home decor, Beijing Shilihe Household Building Materials City is your one-stop market.
Though its Chinese name “City” suggests its expansiveness, the market is less a city than a street, a household building materials commercial street. It is the largest home improvement market in Beijing, similar to a cluster of Home Depot stores in the States or Canada as well.
Getting there is just a breeze. It is located in the southeast corner of the Third Ring Road in Beijing. Take subway line 10 ( or Line 14 anf 17 ) and get off at the station of Shilihe Zhan ( 十里河站）and exit at Exit K2 or J , you will be on the market street ( located at 100 meters east of Shilihe Bridge, East Third Ring Road, Chaoyang District, Beijing 北京市朝阳区东三环十里河桥东100米 (十号地铁K2出口).
Location: 100 meters east of Shilihe Bridge, East Third Ring Road, Chaoyang District, Beijing
北京市朝阳区东三环十里河桥东100米 (十号地铁K2出口）
Take subway line 10 ( or Line 14 anf 17 ) and get off at the station of Shilihe Zhan ( 十里河站）and exit at Exit K2 or J . Then walk along Dayangfang Road (大羊坊路）, then you will see the a group of buildings for all the stuff you will need.
For more information, please click: Beijing Shilinhe Household Building Materials City.
Top 7 Sanyuanli Market （Food & Produce）三源里菜市场
Sanyuanli Market is located in Shunyuanli, Chaoyang District, Beijing. The market was built in October 1992, with a business area of 1560 square meters and 139 booths, selling vegetables, fruits, fresh meat, aquatic products, non-staple food seasonings, grain and oil, pasta tea, general merchandise and daily necessities. The market is a standardized community vegetable market of Beijing.
Sanyuanli Market has become the food and produce shopping channel for more than 10,000 households and 30,000 residents in Xinyuanli, Sanyuanli and Shunyuanli communities, as well as the surrounding hotels and restaurants. Guests from foreign embassies, hotels and foreign-related enterprises also frequently patronize this market.
ADD: Left side of Building 2, Shunyuanli, Ease Third Ring Road, Beijing
BUS: 403,300/YUNTONG104 at Sanyuanqiao Station
Subway: Line 10 Liangmaqiao Station
Top 8: Baoguosi Culture Market 报国寺文化市场
The old open-air Baoguosi Culture Market is closed. But the marekt is there keeping some of its delicate indoor markets. Today Baoguosi Cultural Market is still a cultural market based on Chinese books, stamps and coins. So you still can see some quiet and lively antique trade business going on inside the market ( indoor buildings ).
Brief introduction: “Baoguosi” means Baoguo Temple ( Serving the country Temple ). It was first constructed in the Liao Dynasty (916-1125) in the southern part of downtown Beijing. Baoguo Si was a Buddhist temple. The main hall of the temple has been now transformed into a coin hall, a book and newspaper hall, a ticket and certificate hall, a comic book hall, etc.
Top 9: Yandai Xiejie Market 烟袋斜街
In Beijing, there still exist some places where you can see the old streets, typical Northern Chinese buildings and authentic Beijing folk culture despite of the fast pace of the local urbanization and gentrification.
Yandai Xiejie ( or Yandai Byway or Old Pipe Street 烟袋斜街) is one of such old commercial streets that showcase Beijing’s past. Yandai Byway was originally formed in Yuan Dynasty (1271 – 1368) and further developed and reached its height in late Qing Dynasty (1644-1911). Yandai, literally “Smoking Pipes”, was once lined up with many shops selling smoking pipes, hence the name of Yandai.
Today the general outline of the byway is still intact with many buildings sticking to their originality – shop front residence. Beside keeping the tradition of selling smoking pipes, antiques and jade, the lean street also sells silk, tea, Beijing snacks,etc. There are trendy bars and small eateries on the street.
Location： The 232-meter-long market street is located about 50 meters south of Drum Tower. For more information, please check out How to Visit Yandai Xiejie.
Top 10 Nanluoguxiang Hutong 南锣鼓巷
Now almost every Beijing first-time visitor wants to be lost in the maze of Nanluoguxiang hutong teemed with side lanes. People want to be lost in the past, in the tradition, in the passing passengers, in a fad and in the future. Time is flying here and getting older.
The 786-meter long south-north Nanluoguxiang Hutong is lined with numerous trendy bars, yummy restaurants, unique hostels, lively themed stores and itinerant vendors.
Nanluoguxiang is easily accessible by Subway Line 6 and get off at the station of Nanluoguxiang. Then enter the south entrance to Nanluoguxiang and exit from its north. For more information, please check out How to visit Nanluoguxiang.
The markets below have been either closed or moved somewhere else due to Beijing urban development:
Dahongmen Clothing Wholesale Market 大红门服装批发市场 ( Moved)
( Closed) Important Notice: The vendors have evacuated from the market and settled elsewhere. No More!
This huge market, oft-lauded as the largest clothing market north of Yangtze River in China.
It is located on Beijing’s south axis road starting from Muxiyuan (木樨园) on the south third ring road in the north to the northern bank of Liangshui River (凉水河北岸) , about 7 km south of Tiananmen Square.
The market is composed of 24 comprehensive markets covering clothing, shoes, hats as well as food, antiques and paintings jewelry, cultural and creative products. The most well-known markets include Dahongmen Clothing City (大红门服装城) and Dahongmen Shoes City (大红门鞋城).
Address: 15 Yongnan Road (south of Dahongmen Birdge ), Fengtai District
Chinese Add: 北京市丰台区永南路15号(大红门桥南)
Contact: 67226658
Business Hours:
Dahongmen Early Morning Market (大红门早市)：4:30 am – 10:00 am
Dahongmen Clothing Wholesale Market (大红门服装批发市场) : 9:00am – 5:00 pm
Tianya Clothing Plaza (天雅服装大厦) : 9:00 am – 5:00pm
Jingwen Clothing Market (京温服装市场)：9:00 am – 5:00pm
Dahongmen Shoes City (大红门鞋城)：7:00 am – 4:00pm
Beijing Tianyi Small Commodities Wholesale Market 北京天意小商品批发市场( Closed)
(permanently closed and removed)
Beijing Tianyi Market has over 2000 suppliers from all over China with over 60,000 small products.
The market has a business area of 11000 square meters with 20 business halls and 1550 booths.
The market can almost meet your need for some cheap accessories. It is better to buy large quantities, let’ s say 10 pieces and it is easy to bargain in bulk-buy. The market sells everything such as hairstyles, electronics, souvenirs, toys, Jewels, door keys, bags, tissues, clothes, cuddly toys, cosmetics, plants, shoes, phone accessories, office supplies, bookshops, school supplies and many more!!
Business Hour: 7:30am – 5:30pm
Add: No. 259, Fuchengmen Outer Street, Xicheng District, Beijing, China, 100037
中国北京市西城区阜成门外大街259号 邮政编码: 100037
Subway line 2: Take subway line 2 and get off at the station of “Fuchengmen station”(阜成门), exit from Exit A, then walk westward along Fuchengmen Outer Street (阜成门外大街) for about 1.2 km, coming across 2 traffic lights, you will see the market on your right side ( No.259).
Zoo Market 动物园服装批发市场 ( Closed & Moved)
Important Notice: The vendors have evacuated from the market and settled elsewhere. No More!
Brief introduction: This is a huge wholesale market group which is composed of seven markets. Beijing Zoo Market is mainly composed of 7 sub-markets: 1) 金开利德 (Jinkaili) 2) 天乐宫 (Tianlegong) 3) 天皓城 (Tianhaocheng) 4) 东鼎 (Dongding) 5) 聚龙 (Julong) 6) 世纪天乐 (Shijitianle) 7) 众合 (Hezhong).
And the most popular ones are Julong, Tianlegong and Shiji Tianle.Buy them here for half-price but be geared up for bargaining hard or buy in volume.
Everything is so cheap and so plentiful here!! Anywhere from 10-50 RMB for shirts, tops, jeans, pants, skirts, everything. Jewelry for about 10-15RMB. In some places they can be more expensive, but about 90% are the cheap prices listed above.
Weekday mornings are the best time to come and be prepared to spend a few hours walking around. There are also various places to eat in the area: KFC and McDonalds, Yonghe Soy Milk, Pizza Hut, Yoshinoya, Dairy Queen, A&W, Mexican Restaurant …
Location: Around Beijing Zoo, Xizhimen Waidajie, Xicheng District
Tel: 010-68312001
Opening Hours: 5:00am – 3:00pm
Subway: Take Subway Line 4, get off at Beijing Zoo Station ( 动物园）and exit from Exit D
Public Transport: Bus No.s 7, 27, 103, 105 and 111.206, 209, 319, 334, 347, 360, 362, 534, 601, 632, 634, 697, 714, 808, 814, 特4, Yuntong 104, Yuntong 105, Yuntong 106 or Yuntong 205 and get off at Beijing Zoo Station.
Tip: Hassle-free Beijing Guided Tours
If you don’t want to go the do-it-yourself route and prefer the hassle-free escorted tours, here are some options for Beijing guided tours:
Car Rental in Beijing
Beijing Day Tour
Beijing Tour Packages
Beijing Winter Tour
Great Wall Tour
Beijing Tours
China City Tours
China Tour
Further Readings
Best Time to Visit Beijing
How to plan a trip to Beijing
Top 10 Attractions in Beijing
How to Visit Forbidden City
How to Visit Temple of Heaven
How to Visit Summer Palace
How to Visit Ming Tombs
How to Visit the Great Wall of China
How to Visit Tiananmen Square
How to Visit Hutongs
How to Visit Olympic Sites
Top 10 Markets in Beijing
Top 10 Shopping Malls in Beijing
Beijing Shopping
Wangfujing Night Snack Street
Qianmen Commercial Street
Beijing Huguosi Street
Chinese version of the travel guide:
Any questions, just drop a line.
