Hongqiao Pearl Market: More than Just a Pearl Market

When I came across the name of the market, I was thinking that everything that could be found there is all about PEARLS or products related to pearls. 

Since it is my habit to conduct thorough research on a certain place before I visit it, it came to me that the market is not only about pearls. 

To satisfy my curiosity, I visited the HONGQIAO PEARL MARKET one Saturday. 

During my visit and exploration, I was able to confirm that HONGQIAO PEARL MARKET is certainly more than just a PEARL MARKET, it is a market where you can find and buy almost anything.

HONGIAO PEARL MARKET is located in DONGCHENG DISTRICT at the Southeast of CENTRAL BEIJING. It is situated near the TEMPLE OF HEAVEN. 

The HONGQIAO PEARL MARKET

How to reach the HONGQIAO PEARL MARKET?

SUBWAY train is the easiest and convenient way, alight at TIANTANDONGMEN STATION of SUBWAY LINE 5, exit at Gate A. Then look for the building with picture above. The market opens at 9:30am daily.

The landmark infront of the HONGQIAO PEARL MARKET

The market is more than a PEARL because you can find anything you need, from electronic gadgets, clothing, bags, souvenir items, and of course, the pearls and jewelries. 

Majority of the shoppers are foreigners so the sellers know how to speak English fluently. It is easier to buy something in this market. Unlike in other markets or malls that I visited in BEIJING where it is very hard to buy something because of the language barrier.

At the BASEMENT, you will find the food court. You can choose from among the familiar fastfood chains and restaurants like KFC, MC DONALDS, PIZZA HUT and many more. 

The first floor is devoted for the stalls selling ELECTRONICS items.

The FIRST FLOOR  contains the ELECTRONICS including mobile phones, watches, and many others.

 The second floor is for stalls selling shirts, jackets, shoes, bags, suitcases, scarfs, and many others. This is where the TOILET is also located. I mentioned TOILET because in China due to extreme cold weather especially from September to March, you have to go to the toilet to urinate frequently. The problem with some malls are the confusing signage to locate the toilet. Just like in this mall or market, the toilet is difficult to find because of the unclear directional information. But the good news is majority people in this mall understand English very well so you can ask them where is the toilet.

at the SECOND FLOOR of the HONGQIAO MARKET...

Although the products in this mall are not the authentic brands, but for me they are still good quality items. The most important to take note here is to ask for big discount from the original price. 

The technique is pick up something you like then ask for the price. If the seller says for example 500 YUANS, bargain for about 100 YUANS. If the seller says NO, turn your back and attempt to walk away. Wait for the seller to call you and says "Ok sir or ma'am, 100 YUANS."  You have the power to do that because the sellers know that there are many other stalls selling the similar items. They have to survive competition within the mall. In this way, you can get what you want at your budget.
NOTE: 1 YUAN is equivalent to about 7.20 Philippine Pesos.

at the THIRD FLOOR, where PEARLS and JEWELRIES can be found...

 One tip that I can give is DO NOT BRING TOO MUCH MONEY when going to this market because the tendency is for you to be spending more than your budget due to the wide variety of items that can be found that you can avail at amazingly low prices. 

Another advise is do not the ask for the price of something that you do not really need or do not have any intention to buy because of two possible scenarios. First, you will end up buying the product due to the big discount that will be given  just to convince you to buy it. Second, there are also  not so polite sellers who will tell you some not so good remarks like "do not ask for the price if you will not buy it." But majority of the sellers are polite and will just smile when you say that you will just come back.

HAPPY SHOPPING!

DON'T FORGET TO BARGAIN DOWN TO AS LOW AS 20% OF THE ORIGINAL PRICE!!!

DO NOT JUDGE THE MALL BY ITS NAME!!!