This page contains some additional thoughts on shopping for art and antiques in China, which I hope will be useful both to short-term visitors and expat residents.

These are my personal experiences of a collector and flea market addict, living in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou and shopping just about everywhere. I hope they will help you to get good value out of your stay here, and to avoid some of the pitfalls that I waded into.

Why shop in China?

The three most important reasons to buy things here are: Uniqueness – there are things here that you cannot get elsewhere Handmadeness – many things that are no longer made by hand in the West can still be found in handmade form here. Value – you will get more for your money for handmade items, because labor costs less in China. The emphasis is on “good value” rather than “cheap”, because good things are always made from good materials. For example, good furniture needs a supply of top quality wood, good jewelery needs precious stones. These materials fetch the same prices in China as elsewhere, so the items made from them may cost less than back home, but if they are truly“cheap” you will get exactly what you paid for.

Look for quality

I have lived in China since 1995. On arriving I was immediately captivated by all things Chinese, and bought a lot of furniture and ceramics. I bargained hard and fancied myself a bit of a pro. After a while I started reading books and visiting museums as well as looking in the stores. I gradually learned to see clearly. I realized that most of the things I had bought in the first couple of years were junk. With a few exceptions, that stuff ended up in a charity shop in Guangzhou (they were delighted). And so, having paid my tuition fee, I began again.

Caveat emptor

Shopping in China can be summed up thus: “let the buyer beware”. It’s not the normal practice here for retailers to give a full account of their goods, or to point out defects, especially in the arts and antiques field. Most retailers don’t actually lie about their items, they simply let the buyer kid himself/ herself about it. A little knowledge is a dangerous thing. There are two ways to get around this problem:1) Become an expert. This is effective, but time consuming. 2) Buy from the quality end of the market, and don’t allow yourself to be driven by price alone, particularly for “serious” purchases. You will pay a little more, but you will avoid wasting your money. The most effective strategy is usually some combination of these two.

antique lacquered Chinese cabinet, Ningbo region

lacquered cabinet, around 1800, Ningbo region

Practical tips

Look closely. Take your time. If the piece is presented as being old, ask questions about it: “show me where the repairs are”, “where did it come from”, “do you have a photo of how it looked before you restored it” (nearly all furniture dealers use photographic records to track inventory and can often oblige).

Buy items with Presence

Unless you are a true collector, and must have a representative of every type of Chinese snuff bottle (for example), you are probably buying things to decorate your home. So look at objects with a decorator’s eye. One average jar may not enhance your living room, and might just end up making it look like the junk shop that you bought it in. On the other hand, a group of twenty green-glazed jars bought with purpose and forethought might make a stunning arrangement.

One simple check is whether the item is big enough to make a statement. Small stuff often ends up as clutter unless you have a great idea for how to display it.

My own favorites are furniture, textiles and paintings because they look great in our apartment and give me a lot of pleasure. I love ceramics and have bought a lot over the years, but I cannot honestly say that I have found good ways to display them (yet!).

Think carefully about wear, tear and defects

With some kinds of items, especially old/antique furniture and textiles for use, some wear and tear is inevitable. In fact, if there is no wear and tear of the right kind in the right places it probably isn’t old. So check the repairs and decide if you find them acceptable. Other kinds of objects are not necessarily supposed to show wear (paintings, ornamental ceramics) and you should look at these differently

When I am buying old textiles (for example) I apply different principles depending on the type of item. Pile carpets (for example) repair well and the results are often acceptable. Turn the rug over and you will see the rewoven areas clearly from the back. Flatweave textiles on the other hand are nearly impossible to repair well however, so I never buy old flatweaves that have problems.

I also tend to avoid ceramics with chips and cracks since broken or recently repaired ceramics usually irritate me. A recent, resin repair is to be avoided at all costs: it may look acceptable today, but after a few years the resin will oxidize and turn yellow and the piece will be ugly.

If it seems too good to be true, it is

Dealers in China are experts in their field, read auction catalogues and know the international prices for what they are selling. The same is true of many local collectors. So if the price for an item seems particularly low, beware. There will be a reason, and you do not want to discover what it is after you have bought the piece.

Tibetan amulet case (Gau) turquoise and silver

Fleamarket hunting

I love fleamarkets, especially the weekend market at PanJiaYuan in Beijing, sometimes called the “dirt market”. Even if you know nothing about Chinese art and antiques you can have a great deal of fun there. Just bear in mind that 95% of what you are looking at is brand new, and unless you are knowledgeable and experienced you will probably buy a fake. This is of no consequence for small amounts of money, but follow the Las Vegas rule and don’t bet more than you can afford to lose.

You are not going to “have it repaired later”

Skip things that need serious professional attention, unless the item is acceptable to you as it is. Antique repair and restoration is prohibitively expensive back home, and finding repairers/ restorers in Beijing and Shanghai is difficult. Additionally, if an item is presented for sale in an unrestored or uncleaned state, there will be a reason for it. The dirt is probably hiding something you should know about – usually some kind of damage. It is common for dealers to apply extra dirt to cover up defects or amateurish repairs. Dirt sticks to epoxy resin and super glue rather convincingly.

Don't buy old rugs that have not been cleaned

Domestic carpet cleaning services cannot cope with the startling amount of dirt in an old rug, and unless you have a concrete bath, access to 100 gallons of water and a drying rack you will not be doing this job yourself. Washing an old carpet also has a habit of turning weak spots into holes, which is why the pros always combine washing and repair.

(As an aside ... we are happy to recommend cleaning services in China for regular domestic carpet cleaning purposes ... a different thing altogether)

How to get good value

Be different. If you want the same things as everyone else (especially art and antiques, and most especially contemporary art) you will have to pay more. This especially applies to items that have been illustrated in books. Look instead for things that are not being bought by the multitudes, at least not yet.

Many long-time China residents spend their time bemoaning the items that used to be common and cheap (but which for some reason they didn’t buy at the time) but are now expensive, and ignore the things that are available now. Antique markets change much more rapidly than most people realize, as buyers go to new areas and look for new things, and old sources become exhausted. Instead, look for things that are newly arriving. Get ahead of the trend.

Buy a few good things

One object that cost $500 but makes you go “wow!” is better than ten things costing $50 that are just so-so. This is because ten "so-so”s never add up to a “wow”.

ancient Chinese belt-hook, Warring states period

Lots of money

If you are fortunate enough to have it, here are some comments.

Spend money in proportion to your surroundings. If you are in a fleamarket, spend flea-market sums. If you have $1000-10,000 go to the quality stores. If you have $100,000 take it to a top dealer or auction house and bypass all the stuff in between.

With regard to antiques, remember that advertising does not equal reputation. It is common for disreputable dealers to take out expensive full-page color ads depicting fake pieces. There is nothing stopping a dealer from doing this. If you want to research a dealer’s reputation use other means – check out magazine reports of sales, attendance at vetted fairs, history of the company and so on.

At the top end of the antiques market, Hong Kong, London and New York are still much safer places to buy than mainland China. In contrast, for decorative items and mid-range purchases, Beijing and Shanghai provide more choice, better value and (arguably) more fun.

And finally… just in case you were tempted…

Skip the fake handbags and other knock-offs. As you know, there are markets in Beijing and Shanghai that sell nothing but fake designer goods to tourists. The stitching will come undone on your fake designer bag and the buckle will fall off after a few days. You did not travel 00000 miles and spend $$$$ getting here for this experience. You are smarter than that.

And finally finally…

I have had (and am still having) fun shopping in China. So, I hope, will you.

Chris Buckley/ January 2009