Tourist markets and air quality

In the past week, I visited both of the most famous and popular tourist markets in Beijing. The Silk Market is the oldest in Beijing with the Pearl or Hongqiao Market running a close second. Today, I am sitting in my apartment avoiding the air pollution. After constantly battling upper respiratory stuff and the flu, I am now paying closer attention to pollution levels and staying inside if possible. More about that later. Now, let’s talk about the experiences that are the Silk and Pearl Markets!

The Silk Market was my first big tourist excursion during my time here. I say that because it is a market for non-Asian people which was recently renovated so that the former vendor stalls are now fully encased in glass. It more closely mirrors a shopping mall than a market. All of the vendors are Chinese, but they speak what I call sales floor English and all of the shoppers are most definitely not only not Chinese, but non-Asian.

I met a man from Ghana. We high-fived when I laughed at a comment that he made in English to a shopkeeper about haggling being part of his culture too. I met a family from Israel. The older man in the group and I had an extended conversation about the “many” National Geographic documentaries that he has seen about Nebraska. Who knew? Haggling was definitely not part of the Israeli man’s background, and he expressed great discomfort with it. In the end, I purchased a watch for a friend, a hand-carved name stamp for myself, and successfully avoided the aggressive sales tactics of most of the salespeople. I heard many languages that day and was thrilled to be in a place where my Western ideals about personal space were honored.

The Pearl (Hongqiao) Market is more difficult to reach than the Silk Market. Getting there requires walking about a half mile from the closest subway station. In contrast to the Silk Market, there were no tourist busses parked outside the Pearl Market. Inside, there was a more mixed crowd of people. Some of the shoppers were Chinese! The design of the Pearl Market is more traditional. It is open air without the glass walls found in the Silk Market. I knew immediately that this was a better place to shop. I suspected that the prices would be lower and the vendors less pushy. My hunches were correct.

It happened to be a slow day for the vendors at the Pearl Market, so they were more than willing to talk with me about their products and processes. The vendors I spoke with all own the business they represented and are all women. Most of the people working in the Pearl Market on the day I was there are women. I exchanged social media contacts with two vendors, and we communicated over WeChat during the past week. One of them asks a lot of questions about my experiences living in Beijing. She has visited the U.S. and would love to visit again someday. Both women agreed to talk with me about my research project.

I took the combined opportunities of a slow sales day and a dual-language population to ask a few more women about my research. I was surprised by their willingness to participate. Some of them looked so bored that I think I was a welcome distraction. By the end of the day, I had completed nine interviews, purchased another watch for the same friend, and bought pretty hair accessories for my daughters. When the vendors realized that I am living in Beijing, the haggling became less intense and the prices were lower. I will definitely return to the Pearl Market.

This week marked the fourth time that I have been sick since my arrival on March 1. I have no desire to return to the U.S. with pneumonia—something that happened to a friend who spent extended time in Beijing—and so I will do less wandering. I downloaded an app for my phone that not only gives me air quality levels and activity recommendations, but also a seven-day air quality forecast. For my last few weeks here, I will use it to plan my outings and activities when possible. My newfound understanding of air quality as it impacts health makes me value our pollution regulations in the U.S. The ones still standing, anyway.

I am still looking forward to being home, but I feel like my final few weeks here will be my most enjoyable and productive. My confidence to explore on my own and to reach out to people has increased exponentially. If I can get a few good air quality days before I leave, I’ll have many experiences to share with my friends and family. 

A view of the Temple of Heaven from the rooftop garden at the Pearl Market