How to Bargain In Beijing

Tips of bargaining here is in context of shopping in marketplace, not shopping mall. It's pretty clear you can't bargain in shopping mall right?

For those who had been to Beijing know where are the markets to shop but nevertheless I'll share some info of marketplaces that I went to.


Pearl Market

Situated opposite of Temple of Heaven North Gate, it is best visited after you're done with visiting Temple of Heaven. I just afraid you would not leave Pearl Market for Temple of Heaven if you ever choose the other way around :D

How to get here:
Subway Tiantan Dongmen (Line 5) Station, turn left and across the road you'll see the building

Operating hours: 9.00am - 7.00pm

What to look for: Pearl, watch, electronics, scarf, luggage etc

Pearl Market from front

Pearl Market from side

Yashow Market

I went here twice due to its proximity to my host's house and it's close to other shopping mall. The market is located in Sanlitun, a popular bar street in Beijing. So, you'll expect a lot of expats nearby the area and bargaining can be a little tougher. 

How to get here:
Subway Tuanjiehu (Line 10) Station, turn right and walk straight for about 7 minutes until you'll see shopping mall with Uniqlo and Adidas stores. Walk past it and Yashow Market is on the next building. 

Operating hours: 9.30am - 9.00pm

What to look for:
Shoe, luggage, handbag, adult's and children's clothing, silk and tailor shop, jewellery, watch

Walk pass these buildings

Yashow Market

More marketplace, check here.


Shopping in Beijing famous marketplaces is totally different experience to me when to compare with Bangkok, Indonesia or Vietnam. So, I'm sharing the little experience I had with the hope it might be useful to you when you shop in Beijing.


PREPARATION

1. Shopping List

Whenever travelling I always prepare my shopping list to cut time wandering in the marketplace clueless what to look for. Clueless traveler always be a target of desperate vendors.

I prepare how many souvenirs I wanted to buy and to whom, the budget (extremely important) and what other things to buy.

On what other things to buy, you might need some research beforehand to know what the marketplace is offering and what's the best deal you could get. Above description could help you a little but generally all marketplaces sell almost the same as each other. Almost.

Entering the marketplace, look for floor where your desired items are located at and straight go towards that direction. Temptation to other item is always there. Keep to your shopping list first.


2. Less is good

Me and Sayra both had our big camera with us everywhere we went when in Beijing. Before entering the main door, we kept them away and all other possessions that might give perception 'we have a lot money' to the vendor in our bag.

Appear like an average traveller/tourist.
It does affect your bargain later.

Remember my previous post on my eating/drinking in Beijing? I bought hot chocolate at Starbucks next to Yashow Market before the shopping and as I didn't finish it all, I held it along my shopping process. And Sayra also had her coffee with her.

When we were at final stage of bargaining at first shop for fridge magnet, the lady vendor refused to agree with our price just because we had expensive coffee. Grrrr.... So, ditch all that might made you look rich/have much money to assure you'll get the cheapest price for your things. Well, since we applied other tips already, eventually we got our fridge magnets at price we bargained for. 

Keep reading, I personally find the tips afterwards worth apply for :D


WHICH SHOP TO BUY FROM?

Shops in marketplace are grouped at one level according to their goods. One level for clothing, another level for handbags, another level for shoes etc. It made your shopping easier, if you already have the shopping list as above right.
  
Well, advising which shop to buy from is the toughest part ever. Since every shop in the same floor sells about the same thing, you have to make a random try and visit. Sometimes it depends on your luck but you could always apply below series of tips which I find very useful and effective as your guideline.


This is a trial and error approach.
Common sense should also be applied.


3. Smile, someone might love looking at you

At the alleyway when deciding which shop to enter, always carry your beautiful and sincere smile around. Try to smile at vendors waiting outside of shops selling items in your list and make some eye contact with them. Whoever smiles back at you and invite you in, it might be the best place to buy.



4. Be Polite

As much as you don't like arrogant and rude people, so do the vendors.
Be in your most polite manner asking for items you like and its price. Remember to still keep your smile with you at this time.
First impressive is crucial.

Greet them in Chinese "Ni Hao"
Ask price in Chinese "Do shao chen?"

Whenever you think the item you like is overpriced, ask for discount. Usually they will ask what is your best price. Well, this is when your budget you prepared earlier will be used as basis and your bargain skills are put to test. Confidently state your price and smile again.

If they agree, it's your lucky day!

If not, there might be a case they will yell at you telling your price is crazy, you are mean, you are killing them, they make no money from selling it to you and other nasty stuff unpleasant to your ear. Don't get offended by them as that are the common dialog EVERY VENDOR are telling to their customers when asking for discount.

Turn deaf on that! Keep your politeness intact, ask few times more for discount. And tell exactly the same thing back to them that their price is crazy, you have no money etc in a friendlier tone. Joke a little if you can.

Remember to firmly stick to the price you're willing to pay. Usually I will ask for discount of 50% - 80% depending of item.

If that doesn't work and you still want the thing, the next step might help. It will take some time and some people might not want to go until this extend.


5. Built Rapport

So, you hardly want this thing from this particular shop but the price given is not making sense at all? Build a rapport and this works all the time for us. Seriously!

Linger a little longer in the shop looking for other item, put the bargaining business aside for a while.

Ask their name. And introduce yours too.
Don't we like when people calling us by name? I do!

Try creating a casual conversation with them so they feel comfortable with you and regards you as their friends. Some of my favourite are:

"Miss X, where do you learn to speak english? Your english is good unlike other person I met"

"Do you know how to go to (name place)? I'm planning to go there tomorrow. What's good about that place?"

"All your stuffs in your shop are more quality/beautiful/unique than others. You have a very good taste"

"Miss, your cloth/hair/skin/eyes is beautiful. Where do you buy/product you use?"

"Is your boyfriend also works here?"

"How do speak (whatever) in Chinese?"

"I have biscuit/chocolate, do you want some?"


That's just to get the conversation started. You should be able to continue with whatever topic after that. Have few laugh in between. Be more creative.

After you notice they've change their tone from stranger to friend, ask again for your price. This time, it's more difficult for them to say no. You have become their friends :D

A little and gentle touching/pat (at hand and shoulder) would also helps in bargaining. Do not overdo it as some people don't like to be touch. Know your limit. 


6. Find Similarities

After few trials, me and Sayra concluded dealing with a young girl/student alike and old lady were much hassle free and ended with lesser time negotiating. 

It is again about them being comfortable with you. If you and the vendor have common things to discuss/talk about, you clicked well. And bargaining is easy from there.  

And do not enter a shop with other foreigner (non Asian) in it. You may return later after they left. Vendors will prefer to entertain them than you. No offence as non Asian can give more money than Asian do. 


7. When it's Time To Leave, Leave

If it doesn't work, say politely you couldn't afford their price and leave the shop. Don't be surprise when they call you back agreeing to your price!
:D



The key word for all the above is Psychology!



And as I said this is a trial and error approach. If any of these doesn't work, move to the other shops. Apply the same tips.


MY EXPERIENCE

On average, me and Sayra spent half an hour or more at shop we think worth the time spending. What's the good thing about it?

At fridge magnet shop, we bargained for too much until we and the lady had to sit on a floor selecting the fridge magnet together, she gave all designs at the same price. We asked for free gift and she gave each of us earring and when we noticed she had few flag pins (of different country) on her scarf, we even asked if we could have that and she gave! LOL. That was after she shared her selling experience in the marketplace. 

Buying scarf in Beijing is cheap. The cheapest I got was from Pearl Market. Looking for old lady vendor worked :D

At Pearl Market, both me and Sayra bought same design but different colour winter clothing for a price we didn't expect she would give. Tips? We had conversation with some of the examples above and bargained until it was time for her to close the shop. And we also acted like a students with not much money :) Eventually when all the lights had turned off, she either had to choose to make some money or none at all and losing two customers. We left the shop with big smile.

My new Made-in-China winter clothing

I was so in love with this one particular jacket, it looked so stylish and warm enough for winter but I wasn't willing to spend extra money for that. So, after failed to get the price I was willing to pay, I left the shop to make the girl vendor feel sorry for losing me as her customer. Did she call me back? NO! I must had put a price with a slim profit margin to her. Tired of negotiating, I decided not to buy the jacket, even at other shop. So, we stop looking for jacket shops and went to look for Sayra's shoe for Great Wall climbing the next day. The girl vendor in jacket shop must had hard time selling her goods that day, I didn't know how but she managed to find us at other shop! We were surprised when we heard our name being called from afar in Yashow Market by the girl vendor and begging us to go back to her shop! I clearly put a condition to her that I only will buy if she could sell the jacket at my price. At the end of the day, she called me 'tough girl' for I was so firm with my price. It worth it!

When Sayra bought her shoe in Yashow, it was nearly closing time already. In between negotiating for cheapest price, we had many good conversation and laughing. After we left the shop as the last customer, she invited us to have dinner at her house! Wow, but we declined politely as it was our final night in Beijing and we had made other plan.

Sayra with new shoe in Great Wall

Goods in Beijing (or China) is generally very cheap if you know the right way to bargain for that. And you'll only encounter this situation at marketplaces that aim tourists as customer. Shopping in non tourist area is easy and simple - no bargain, no haggling, no yelling but CHEAP PRICE! Well, everything is MADE IN CHINA right?!

Overall, I enjoyed the shopping experience in Beijing although it took a lot of time and my patience. I hope the tips benefit you who has made plan to shop in Beijing. This topic couldn't leave my head these few days, so i'm just sharing it while it lasts. Now, I should resume to my draft of last part in Dieng Plateau entry. See you in a bit!





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Weekly Travel Photo

Oriental Door Knob, Beijing

As a symbol of auspicious and majesty, most doors in Temple of Heaven have brass lion-head door knob plated with gold. All the doors used by emperor had 9 studs arranged horizontally and vertically as number 9 represented supremacy of the monarch. Other lower rank like princes and baron had fewer studs on their gates with 7 x7 or 5 x 5 arrangement.



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Sunday Morning in Temple of Heaven

It was hard to wake up late during travelling for me. I was afraid of missing many things the place could offer. That's the insecurity I feel when travelling. When I know the place (thing) is not belongs to me, I won't take it for granted. Mmm...I guess that's the trick for me to appreciate a place (thing), to be always on the move and never settle. But for now, it doesn't sound like a good idea to me. I'll figure it out later :D

While Sunday morning at home usually sees me lazing around on bed or in front of TV, my first Sunday morning in Beijing I woke up to an early sunrise from comfy bed at Steph's house and quickly heading to subway station - to Temple of Heaven.

Sunday morning in Temple of Heaven was enthusiastic. The Maroon 5 Sunday Morning melody keeps playing in my mind when remembering the day, definitely not No Doubt's. The weather was still cold (for me) but the park was filled with so many people that I expected them to stay inside home. As I entered from the North Gate, music could be heard (not Maroon 5's of course) like there was some sort of festival were going on. 

North Gate crowd

The music came from them.

Yes, they were dancing...happily :D
Look at how they enjoyed themselves.




There were so many activities in the park that day besides dancing. The park serves as a place for the local especially the elderly to gather and socialize. As I moved further inside, there I found a man singing and writing on walking pavement and more dancing.

It got more crowded when approaching the Long Corridor.
The spaces in between the red column of The Long Corridor were fully occupied up until the entrance of Gate of the Supreme Hall.

They were playing cards;

Chinese chess;

And even knitting;

And this is....mmmm, i had to peep through in between these uncles to see.

"Excuse me, what's so interesting here?"

Aha, another boardgame. This must be an interesting game because many were surrounding the two players.

If domino is your kind of game, do join this group please. I might need to learn how to play first before joining them.

 Perhaps this uncle could help teaching me how to play

But this one looks more professional, with his cap and all :D

It was too hard to learn by watching (uncles didn't want to let me learn, they were too busy playing). So, eventually I chose to join this 2 lovely aunties.

At least they can teach me how to make this cute panda...on my next visit :p

No, I didn't learn how to play board game nor knitting here. But one thing I learnt from them elders was to have fun in everything I do regardless of the age. You are not too young or too old for anything :D

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Weekly Travel Photo

Toboggan ride, China

Yeeehaaaa....This fun ride is available at a very historical and magnificent site in the world! A place where ancient and modern meet. Guess where it is. But please don't answer it is in a theme park ;p 



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The fastest way to Beijing from Tianjin

Although Air Asia offers dirt cheap flight to Beijing, they don't really landed in Beijing (Beijing Capital International Airport, IATA:PEK) but in Tianjin (Tianjin Binhai International Airport, IATA:TSN), a metropolis 140km away. However, landing in Tianjin and travelling between the 2 metropolis are still cheap than a roundtrip ticket to Beijing. Yay to frugal travelling! :D

While travelling with bus will take approximately 2.5 hours to reach Beijing, why not use a more convenient and fastest transportation, bullet train!

How to get to the station?
There are actually 2 options; Airport Shuttle Bus or Taxi

Airport Shuttle Bus

From departure hall of Tianjin Binhai International Airport, walk straight outside of the airport to purchase ticket at this Shuttle Bus Station counter.

Ticket to Tianjin Railway Station cost only CNY10. Although the counter is at international airport, none of them speaks english (don't panic, this is the time to use your Mandarin you've been practising). Or u can just point the destination at the glass window if u have difficulty purchasing your ticket :p Bus to railway station departs every 30 minutes and duration is 30 minutes.

Taxi

Metered taxi usually cost around CNY40-50 from airport to Tianjin Railway Station. It will take about 20-30 minutes depending on the traffic.


During my last visit, the bus stopped a bit far from the railway station due to some road closure and I had to lug my [heavy] luggage and tail other passengers to the station.

Tianjin Railway Station (back side)

Like at the airport, all your bags need to undergo x-ray machine for security check here. No exception. This procedure was effected since pre-Olympic 2008 and it gets extended to each subway station too.

The railway station is sooooooo big than I imagined it should! I was amazed at the massiveness and its modern interior. Nothing like any railway station i've been to (I haven't been to many stations to be honest). Well, I think it should be built like so to cater the billions population of China! For this station also connects to other cities in China as well.

If u need to purchase a local sim card, buy it here (near the entrance) at one of China's telco company. I couldn't find anywhere cheaper than here!


Purchasing ticket for bullet train need not to be in advance as there are 70 trips daily between Tianjin-Beijing. I opted to use the ticketing machine as it has english translation.

Sayra helping me buying ticket

Ticket is priced according to its class:
Top Class - CNY99
1st Class - CNY69
2nd Class - CNY58

For just 30minutes ride, the 2nd class seat is decent and comfortable enough. Seat is numbered and you'll get complimentary bottled water.

Just so you know, this is the look of the ticket and the important info u should be checking.

15 minutes before the train leaves, find yourselves queueing with the rest of these people. Did I tell u China has the largest population?

I was queueing impatiently to board the top 10 fastest train in world with them all and when I saw IT, I was super excited like a kid gets a free candy (it was more like 'jakun' actually :p)

 Oh yeah baby, that's the train :D

Let's see how the inside of this train in 2nd class coach.

The seat numbering

The seat

There's overhead bag compartment

Passage to another coach

Toilet

The complimentary bottled water

Ok, I guess enough about the interior of the train and its services. This CRH train is about speed y'all. It can goes to maximum of 350 km/h!

In 6 minutes;

And this was the fastest speed I captured during this trip; 

In exactly 30 minutes at 6.00pm, the train reached Beijing South Railway Station. And this is me, officially in BEIJING! Yippie :D

That's how u can travel from Tianjin Binhai International Airport to Beijing South Railway Station in total of 1 hour.

Beijing South Railway Station is another big railway station and interconnected with Beijing Subway Line 4. You can connect to any subway station from here. For me, here was the starting point of my Beijing's travel adventure :D I straight away making a ticket purchase to Datunlu East Station, where Steph's house is.

To end the day, I had my dinner (first meal in Beijing) at muslim restaurant next to Datunlu East Station.

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