Before I begin, I would like to preface this article by explaining that I am a foreigner in China. My experiences here are greatly affected by my foreigner status, and I’m sure that many Chinese citizens have had very different experiences. Shanghai is a large city, one of the largest in the world, with a population of around 23 million. In this complex and bustling city, there are thousands upon thousands of stores, yet everyday hordes of people decide to shop at the various unofficial types of markets. Antiques, electronics, cameras, fabric, and more--there is a market for almost everything. My personal favorite are the fake markets that can be found all over the city. A fake market generally consists of a couple levels of small shops packed tightly into rows. Each shop will have the same assortment of goods, generic purses, and knick-knacks lining the walls. As anyone will learn after their first trip, these are not where you will find the higher quality goods. Usually after a short talk with the boss, a potential buyer will be escorted through a series of hallways or back doors to find a secret room. This is where the real work begins. Any price that a shop owner gives out at first is guaranteed to be completely outrageous. The best purse I have ever gotten ended up costing 50RMB, but the starting price was upwards of 400RMB. Bargaining, and the arguments that ensue over what a “fair” price is, can take anywhere from five minutes to an hour. In my personal experience, there are two different pathways that a person can take when it comes to bargaining. One is where the customer is simply trying to get the best price possible, and the other is where the customer and shop keeper will work to both come to a fair price. Either way, it is going to take some time to get there. I like to play off the fact that no one expects a (very obviously) foreign woman to be able to speak any Chinese. I quickly spit out the small vocabulary I know with a false confidence, hoping that the shop owners won’t notice that my tones and grammar are all wrong. It never hurts to play up that I’m a college student, something that seems to universally imply that I must be broke. Usually for a moment or two, shops owners are shocked, and they realize that I am not a tourist who is willing to pay US prices for fake goods. Most importantly though, I’ve learned about the importance of the relationships that you can make with the people who work there. They want people to come back, they want guaranteed customers, and they are even willing to sacrifice their profit margin to build a relationship with customers. To me, this is the best part of shopping. It is a small reminder that I truly live here, and I have a life here outside the campus of NYU Shanghai. Bargaining and shopping aside, the markets that spring up in China stand in contrast to the communist and national ideologies that flourish in the present day. In a nation that can seem very concerned with creating a national identity and distancing itself from the West, these markets seem to be pushing the idea of Euro-american culture. After all, what is the point of a Louis Vuitton purse as a status symbol if people are supposed to be completely equal? Then again, China’s political climate isn’t too concerned with maintaining a pure communist ideology either. Rather, China’s government has embraced “Socialism with Chinese Characteristics.” In the end this becomes yet another aspect of the Chinese lifestyle that proves how unique the country truly is. This article was written by Claire Schapira. Send an email to [email protected] to get in touch. Photo Credit: N/A