Another large antiques market can be found at Panjiayuan. This is a multi-sectioned covered shopping area, which is full of antiques, art, books and general kitsch.

From works of Chinese calligraphy and paintings, the four treasures of the study, old watches and clocks, jewelry, ivory and wood carvings, carpets, to antiques from Tibet, there are definitely treasures to be found here, but it is hard to tell genuine antiques from worthless fakes. Real antiques are supposed to bear a red official seal that proves their authenticity, but, sometimes, real items are not marked and faked items are. Do not worry if an item is fake or not. Many of the things on sale are not real antiques. On the other hand, recently a 50,000-year-old fossil was confiscated from one of the sellers there. The fossil was on sale for about US$150, so you never know. Here it is best to bargain down a price to a figure you can accept and go for it. Small jade articles and silver trinkets make great presents for people at home and they are easy to take on an airplane.