In Europe we have the Gorge du Verdon but then of course the Americans have their Grand Canyon which is much deeper and wider. Do we have a desert in Spain, then the Americans have of course their much bigger desert in Nevada. Do we still have some old and big trees left, then in California there are the much older and taller sequoia’s. It cannot be helped, in America it’s often bigger, higher and deeper. However, without any doubt they can say in China that they have the biggest culture market.
This morning we visited the Panjiayuan market, indeed a huge where each day a few thousand merchants offer an unbelievable variety of curiosities to about 50.000 visitors. Art, well, should it always be called like that? Antiques, well, keep your eyes wide open. Real silver, be very careful. But it is an experience not to be missed! It was really interesting to see the many stalls with communist memorabilia from the time of Mao: posters, photo’s, old newspapers, everything out of this time seems worthwhile to collect nowadays. The Great Leader himself was never far away. Somewhere we saw a big poster of him, consisting out of three pieces, rolled out on the filthy floor for a customer and held down by a considerable number of his Red Book. In times not yet too far away this way of treatment of his image probably was not appreciated very much.
You can stroll here for hours without a dull moment, have a look at the traditional Chinese art on paper and the fakes of paintings of now world famous modern Chinese artists, the ornaments of Chinese minorities, Buddha’s in an overwhelming quantity, Tibetan furniture, tapestry, worn out hats of small children and big vases, but probably not those of the Ming dynasty. And of course you don’t pay the price they ask. But isn’t that the same all over the world on these kinds of markets?