Situated west of Panjiayuan Bridge and south of the East Third Ring Road, the Panjiayuan Antiques Market is Beijing's most famous antique market, growing from its humble beginnings as a flea market in the early 1990's.

All manner of antiques are on sale among the thousands of market stalls. Paintings, calligraphy, certamics, jade, furniture, coins, army surplus, "cultural revolution" (1966-76)?memerablilia, Buddhist artefacts and much, much more. If you are not an expert, simply wandering around the 40,000 plus stalls is just as much fun!

The market is specially animated on weekends when the permanent stalls and shops are joined by vendors setting out their wares on the ground. Get there early.

How to get there

Location: 100m west of the Panjiayuan Bridge at the East Third Ring Road
Transport: Bus 51 to Huawei Nanlu Dongkou (華威南路東口）
Opening hours: 8:30 - 18:30 from Monday to Friday; 4:30 - 18:30 Saturday and Sunday

(Streetwise Guide Beijing)