We arrived in Beijing Sunday night. Already at the airport we hired the taxi that picked us up, to be at the hotel on Monday morning at 9.00 AM.
There were only a few shops open when we arrived so we could take our time to thoroughly examine the small stores that were open. Jarl, Erik and Bo were great companions to have in this type of business ventures so we enjoyed ourselves thoroughly.
Two warped and misfired "kiln wasters" apparently dug up somewhere around Jingdezhen ended up costing 30 Yuan including a box. Two small Kangxi jars, one of which had a lid, and a burial jar in the shape of a grain silo from the Song was about 750-800 Yuan altogether. Song ceramics and blue and white Minyao here and now is about 200 Yuan per piece but much more if it is really good. It is remarkable how much copies and junk there is in the market. Perhaps this is what keeps the prices down on the real thing. We had western buffet at a Japanese hotel, and then went back to Jinsong.
In the afternoon we visited the Friendship Store, and the Bargain Alley that turned out to be more Alley than Bargain. The good thing was the assortment. Not that much in Western taste.
Preliminary program for Beijing:
Some of these destinations could be combined so with two each day we can cover these and perhaps a few others , such as: