Shopping Shanghai Style

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Over the last week, I have explored several of the Shanghai markets in a bid to get all of my gift shopping finished before my winter clothing gets shipped home and I head out on the road. Exploring the markets of Shanghai has turned out to be one of my favourite activities and I wish I had started going to them sooner.



Antiques Market

I think one of my favourite afternoons since arriving in Shanghai was at the (no so old) antiques market. It's just a few blocks, but each stall is stuffed with everything from old dolls and trinkets, to statues and furntiure. Most of it produced to sell as "antiques", but it doesn't make exploring the market any less fun. Everywhere you look, there is something interesting to see and it's fun just to see what people are trying to sell.

Now I must admit I fell in love with a trinket and bought something. At several stalls they had these beautiful clocks in glass balls, made to look very old. I realize that they were not old, and clearly mass produced by the number available, but I didn't care. I was intrigued by them and could see one sitting in my apartment back home. I bought one that had the Chinese zodiac animals on it, so it truly is a souvenir and I have no shame that I got sucked into to such a clear tourist trap. Of course I negotiated hard, and got the price down to aroudn $20, so no harm to my pocket book. (I probably could have gotten it lower, but $5 makes no difference to me, but does matter to the seller).




Flower, Bird and Insect Market

Directly across the street from the antiques market of the flower, bird and insect market. Guess what they sell? Flowers, birds, insects, and fish. Bet you didn't see that last one coming. It's a fascinating market to wonder around, as it is a true local hot spot, and the narrow walkways are packed with people examining fighting crickets and picking up new animals or supplies.

Now, the one thing that killed me (and I did not take pictures) were that a couple of stalls were selling kittens and puppies. 20 kittens packed into a small cage, it hurt my heart and it was hard for me to walk buy these stalls. So be warned if you go. Different culture, different treatment of animals. It's the one thing I don't think I'll be able to reconcile with my personal views, and the one thing where I absolutely can't "just go with". So a grit my teeth, close my eyes and walk past these things as quickly as possible. Unfortunately, the sight of these animals will probably never leave my memory, as it hasn't in other countries I visited. I just hope that one day this treatment changes.



Pearl Market

My mother made a last minute requet for me to pick her up a replacement pair of pearl earings for some she lost. I swear my original plan was to just purchase the earings she requested. I swear I did a mental inventory in my head of my pearls - the necklaces, earings and bracelets waiting for me at home and reminded myself that I really didn't need more jewelery. I swear the laundry list of jewelery I told Nori I wanted on the subway to the market was me being dramatic.

I really shouldn't have stepped foot in a pearl market. It brings out my not-so-inner WASP and I always end up buying way too much. But on the plus, what I bought is going to look fabulous with a silk blowse and pencil skirt when I get back to my normal life in a few months. The downside is I won't be wearing a silk blowse or pencil skirt for 4 more months, and I will be carrying my booty for the rest of the trip. Let's just hope I don't go all Golum on it as my trip progreses. There is a distint possibility this could occur.



Fake Market Fun

A week before I headed out, I promised some of my close girlfriends cheezy souvenirs. I promised myself a nock-off clutch and some sunglasses for my trip. You can't escape Shanghai without heading to a fake market, and the best one at the Science & Technology Museum metro stop. With hundreds of stalls to choose from, it can be a bit overwhelming. But the reality is, many are owned by the same people, and they all have the exact same stuff in them. So use this knowledge to your advantage and negotiate hard.

Now, the other thing you have to experience is the back, back room of a knock-off purse store. That's where all the Gucci, Louis Vutton, and serious fakes are kept. I had no intention to buy any of them (I wanted a simple black clutch, and hate logos on anything), but it's a trip to see them open the doors. It's all very clandestine and dramatic. Obviously, no pictures but I highly recommend the experience. It's part of what makes Shanghai Shanghai.

In the end, I got my cheesy panda souvenirs (Viv, Laura these are for you!), magnets, clutch and other ridiculous products. They are all making their way home as I write this and I can wait to find out what I bought in a few months (as I guarantee I won't remember).



Bartering 101

Now some people have noticed I'm a pretty tough negotiator. It's simply boils down to me being cheap, and having a budget I have to follow. I have developed a strategy that has proven very effective in getting the price I want. It's probably not new, but in case it is, here is my tried and true method to bartering in China.


• Feign disgust at their initial price. Shock and horror, and lay it on thick.
• Divide their initial price by four, and then go even lower because they've knocked the price up expecting you to divide by four.
• Scoff at their miniscule price drop, and say you can buy your purse/watch/uggs/sunglasses somewhere else. You aren't leaving Shanghai any time soon.
• Bump up your price by a minscule amount.
• Lather, rinse, repeat the above steps until you're at the price you want to pay (stay low).
• Walk away.
• They will run after you (don't hesitate to go around a corner) and give you a price close to your last price.
• Raise your eyebrows and wait for them to say "okay, okay" and givee you your price (or 20 yuan off it to save face) before you walk back towards their store.



It works everytime, at the pearl market I even got an extra set of drop earing thrown in the mix in Step 8.

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Photos

Tick Tock, Tick Tock
It's amazing how many of these "antique" clocks have survived over time.

Slow and steady wins the race...
The question is, which turtle is your money on?

Pearl Market 1
i may or may not have gotten carried away in my shopping...

Fighting Cricket
It is very popular in China to raise crickets for fighting. It is a serious business and it was great to watch men scrutinize these giant crickets like the prize fighters they were.