Silk Market

We wandered to the silk market yesterday.  I mastered the subway to get there.  Transfer lines at the blue and then take the red line for 6 stops, past Tiananmen east and west.  Pinyin doesn't trip me up anymore.  We live in where it could be considered the boonies.  Beijing is a large city.  The largest I have ever lived in, and yet, I feel comfortable here.  The staring doesn't bother me.  I, too, like to people watch to see the collage of characters surrounding me.  China offers a much better backdrop than Logan.  Most interestingly, babies' butts are exposed to avoid diapers.  They waddle around with their butt cheeks bare to the world.

An hour later of riding the subway, we climb the stairs out of the stop to look across the street to a six story building.  Banners on both sides announce to everyone their purposes.  Silk and Pearl Market.  Tour buses line up outside the expanded parking lot.  This is not what we imagined from the guide book's description.  

Inside is chaos.  Their are hawkers, as I call them, waiting and preying on passing customers.  "Hey lady, hey lady, come look at my clothes.  You know you want them.  Hey, where are you going?"  The name of the game here is bartering.  Never take their original, steeped, price.  They slide a calculator over to show you what they want you to take.  However, with minimal talking you can reduce that to 75 percent of that.  I made one purchase.  A gift for someone and I made the mistake of not bargaining further.  Walking away will make them angry and you will get your desired price.  

Even if you are not interested in an item at their makeshift cubicle.  They will poke and prod you with their speciality item.  Be that shoes, purses, jewerly, watches, and etc.  If you don't want to be harassed be sure not to make eye contact.  Otherwise you run the risk of being forced into a purchase or called a mean person.  

The most impressive aspect of this market is not the knockoff purses labeled Prada and Goochi, but the language skills of these hawkers.  Fluent in Spanish, Emily, a member of our group pretended not to speak English to see the vendor's reaction.  Her Spanish response was shocking.  Beside speaking English, Chinese, most can speak Spanish, Japanese, and Korean.  It is truly mind boggling that their language skills are being put to use at this market.  Outside, minutes later, the cab driver looks puzzled at the directions we give.  Many in the city are not to that level yet. I must give the hawkers a bit more respect.  Even if they did call me "Hey lady" and worse many times.