Beijing Guangxi Hotel
Beijing Guangxi Hotel is a 4-star hotel located at No. 26, Huaweili, Panjiayuan, Beijing. The exterior of the hotel was designed to resemble the Elephant Trunk Hill in Guilin, a place known for its beautiful sceneries. The hill looks like an elephant drinking water with its long trunk.
A walk around Guangxi Hotel will have you visit the Panjiayuan Collection Market, Beijing Antique City, and Tianya Antique City. Actually, this area is a collector¡¯s paradise where one can buy antiques and handicrafts, and experience the depth of the Chinese culture. Even if you do not buy anything, do not miss the chance of visiting these places.
Huapu Supermarket near Guangxi Hotel
Stepping out of the Guangxi Hotel and turning left, a yellow-colored wall will catch your eyes. It is Huapu Supermarket, a popular Beijing supermarket chain which carries staples at inexpensive prices. This rather large supermarket is convenient for the guests of the Guanxi Hotel who want to shop for groceries. It also gives you an opportunity to make contact with locals.
The Apartment Buildings near Guangxi Hotel
From the Guangxi Hotel entrance, turn right. You will see tall apartment buildings with lawns and trees. This community looks clean and agreeable to live in. The Beijing Municipal Government has implemented a series of housing plans to improve the living conditions of city dwellers. This area has benefited from those plans.
The Red House Bar
About 150 meters away, the Red House Bar stands on your right. This bar serves cocktails, beers, wines, fruit juices, coffee and Chinese tea. It is a good place to relax, and listen to music, make friends, or even hold a party. Its hours of operation are 2:00 pm ~ 2:00 am. The telephone number is 010-51670091.
The Zhonggushang International Collectors Club and the Panjiayuan Treasure Gallery
At the east end of Huaweili, you arrive at Dongsanhuan Nanlu (this is the name of this street). Turning left, stepping northward along the avenue, and after passing by the Mercedes-Benz flagship outlet, you will see on your left side a six-storey building with a plaque indicating ¡°Collectors Club International¡±. This is home to the Zhonggushang International Collectors Club and the Panjiayuan Treasure Gallery. The club occupies the fifth and sixth floors. It facilitates its members¡¯ business negotiations. From the first to the fourth floor, and on the basement floor, you will find the antiques and artistic production exhibition and sales stores. These are collectively named the ¡°Panjiayuan Treasure Gallery¡±. Their exhibits include ceramics, jade objects, Chinese paintings and calligraphic works. On the first floor, ancient painted pottery, bronze and porcelain wares are displayed in showcases, each of them a rare piece of admirable, ancient workmanship. On the third floor a shop offers many fish fossils. Two of their specimens were formed some 130 million years ago. Their business hours are from 9:00 am to 9:00 pm.
Panjiayuan Collection Market
Let's return to the east end of Huaweili, but this time, we will walk southwards. Soon you will see on your right side the Panjiayuan Collection Market, the most popular flea market in Beijing. The facade of the market is designed in a traditional Chinese style with grey walls, red window frames, a pair of red lanterns hanging under the eave, and a black plaque on which seven big golden Chinese characters announce Panjiayuan Collection Market.
The Panjiayuan Collection Market covers an area of 48,500 square meters. With over 3,000 vendors coming from various Chinese provinces, the market has become the biggest folk culture market in China. All the shops are open seven days a week, and the roadside stands open up every weekend. On Saturdays and Sundays the market can receive up to seventy thousand customers, of which about a seventh from foreign countries. Dignitaries like Hillary Rodham Clinton, and Maha Chakri Sirindhorn, the Thailand Princess, have visited and purchased things in this market. Climbing the Great Wall, tasting roast duck, visiting the Imperial Palace, and strolling in the Panjiayuan market have become key Beijing tourist sites for international visitors.
Panjiayuan offers the most complete collection of antique goods in China: classic Chinese furniture, the four treasures of study (ink brushes, ink sticks, ink slabs, and paper), old books and magazines, Chinese calligraphy works and paintings, agate and jade objects, pottery and porcelain, Chinese and foreign coins, shadow play puppets made from donkey hide, facial makeup used in traditional Chinese operas, Buddhist religious items, costumes of Chinese ethnic groups, as well as relics of the Great Cultural Revolution (1966~1976), etc.
This market is a platform for display and exchange, and a paradise for collectors. It is also the largest collecting and distributing center of Chinese folk handicrafts: Hengshui snuff bottles, Yangliuqing spring festival pictures, Jiangsu embroidery, Dongyang wood carvings, Quyang stone engravings and sculptures, Shandong shadow play, Jiangxi porcelain and crystal ornaments, Yixing boccaro wares, Shanxi bronze wares, Yunnan costumes, artifacts of Tibetan Buddhism, Xinjiang white jade, and so on.
In the center of the market, there is a large hall under which a lot of vendors set their stands and sell second-hand articles. They are especially keen to trade with foreign visitors, sometimes to the point of getting a bit pushy. They greet you in English, and ask you to take a look at their exhibits. If you are a trained antique collector, you might find out some genuine antiques at inexpensive prices amongst genuine fakes. Don't hesitate to haggle with vendors: this is one of the main features of the market.
Numerous shops line up the four outer walls of the market. Generally speaking, the shop owners or assistants have a better command of English than the flea market vendors. The Panjiayuan Collection Market is a great experience to have in Beijing. It is open from 8:30 am to 6:00 pm.
Beijing Antique City
Southward of Panjiayuan, you will catch sight of a white building on your right. It is Beijing Antique City, which used to be the largest exchange center for antiques and artworks in Asia. Decorated in a magnificently graceful style, Beijing Antique City occupies a surface area of 23,400 square meters. It is comprised of four floors, and harbors over 300 shops dealing in antiques, jewelry, old porcelain items, old watches and clocks, antique rugs, Buddhist religious artifacts, classic Chinese furniture, famous artists¡¯ calligraphic works and paintings, and other miscellaneous items. Antiques and handicrafts from all parts of China find their way to this place.
Shop assistants receive many foreign visitors every day, so they can speak fluent English. A point of interest to flag on your personal map of Beijing.
Tianya Antique City
Further south, you will arrive at a crossroad. On your left side stands the Huawei Bridge. This time, turn right and step forward to face the impressive bronze-colored, nine-storey building which shelters Tianya Antique City. This is a brand new landmark in the antique business circle, which was opened on Sept. 28, 2007.
The facade of the building is decorated with a Jue, an ancient wine vessel with three legs and a loop handle, a set of ancient chime-bells, ancient porcelain wares, and the most famous ancient Chinese painting named Qing Ming Shang He Tu which depicts a prosperous street scene of the North Song Dynasty (960~1127). Truly an amazing work of art!
Tianya Antique City focuses on high-end antiques. It is comprised of nine floors above ground and three levels underground, and covers some 50,000 square meters, now replacing Beijing Antique City as the biggest of its kind in Asia. The interior decoration of the market is based on downtown street patterns of the Tang, Song, Yuan, Ming, and Qing Dynasties.
Along its wide aisles, a strong traditional atmosphere will make you feel as if wandering in ancient oriental streets. The shops of Tianya mainly deal in jade and jadeite, traditional calligraphy works and paintings, miscellaneous antiques, and cultural relics returned from overseas. In order to prohibit the selling of fake antiques and jewelry, the authorities of the Tianya market have implemented a series of strict control measures. The place abounds therefore in genuine, valuable rare artifacts.
Back to the Guangxi Hotel
We have just browsed four antique markets in one fell swoop. This walk will take you half a day if you just want to take a rough look. But to be honest, there are just too many things to see in such a limited time. And if you take a close look, the walk will take you one to two days.
The sheer number and diversity of artistic treasures will have broadened your horizon and enriched your life, that¡¯s a given.
Returning to the Guanxi Hotel in the same way you came.
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