Monday, November 10, 2008

around the antique market

First of all, thank you Linnea for all of her photos i've been borrowing recently.  I tend to miss the best shots because I don't often carry my camera around and generally don't feel comfortable taking pictures of other people for whatever reason.  So i give credit for many of the recent photos to her.  Thanks Linnea!  Enjoy the clear skies back in Sweden. 



You can almost forget in certain neighborhoods of Beijing that China is a developing country.  But it's hard to go a minute or two even in these places without a reminder that the majority of the population is quite different than the comparatively wealthy beijingers



A common sight.  Street cleaners and other people often wear face masks.-- probably not a bad idea with the pollution.



the amount people can carry on a three-wheeled cart or bicycle is impressive.



our puffy baked good selection.  i would say there are things china does better than baked goods. 







A first hand look at the fur trade in China.  Much of the fur exported from China actually comes from dogs.  Some of these pelts were most likely dog pelts dyed to look like cheeta etc, which is common practice here.  If you ever want to know more about how awful this is, google PETA fur trade video.  These men sell furs outside the antique market.





Inside the "antique" market.  Much of the merchandise is actually just made to look old, but there are a lot of old things as well and i could spend days here without seeing everything: furniture, jewelry, Mao paraphenalia , old coins, books, paintings, posters, instruments, clothes, tapestries, dishes, ceramics, statues, toys....







eventually i'll try to take more pictures--this doesn't begin to show the variety.

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