This is a continuation of my RTW diary from November 2003.On my second day in Beijing, it really sank in that I was the only person on the streets without an overcoat. My plans for a Southern Hemisphere Summer were scuppered with this diversion North.
The sun was hiding, the fog was settled, the temperature was 5 degrees, I was freezing and so headed to the Jianguomen ‘Silk’ Market.
This market basically sells a huge range of clothing and accessories, but very little silk. The best bit of advice when going to anywhere like this, where haggling will come into play, is to just walk past the stalls at the front of the market. They basically hope to get you on your way in before you can work out for yourself what prices are charged across the market and before you realise that everything they sell will be available on at least a dozen other stalls.
Those of you closely following our saga will be aware of a jacket that had caught my eye in Hong Kong and again in Tokyo. I never had any inclination to spend £600 on a jacket, even though it was nice. Anyway, two stalls into the market and there is the same jacket hanging from a rail! In Beijing though, my jacket isn’t a Zegna… it’s passing itself off as a Hugo Boss. Dark brown suede, lined – cosy.
The first stall holder opens the bidding at 2,500 Yuan… about £170! I was not prepared to pay anything near that and the price came sharply down to £40. Although this seemed like a good deal on the face of it, I still wasn’t prepared to pay that much full stop so I moved on.
An hour later I had almost managed a full circuit of the market without seeing anything else to take my eye in the jacket department I spot the one I like hanging up on another stall. When I ask the trader how much for the suede one I like she says “you like that one?! You can have it for 200! (£15). She seemed surprised anyone would take it off her hands when she had perfectly good fleece lined waterproof coats to sell. But I’m not preparing for arctic warfare, just a few days of 5-10 degree chill. I feign shock at the horrendous price offered and eventually walk off with a pretend Boss, Zegna look-a-like suede jacket, that would have cost me £1000 in Tokyo, for £12… Beijing is fabulous!
A note from 2009: This market has since meen closed down and bulldozed and a mall has been built on it's location.
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