The Everything Place

We were judged. We were taken advantage of. We were preyed upon and oggled at. We're white.

Everyone knows that when you go to the night market, like the one we went to on Friday night (吴山 夜市 Wushan yeshi), haggling is a must. The sellers all start at absurd prices regardless of who you are, but there is a direct correlation between the ridiculousness of the price and the "foreign-ness" of the intended buyer. Its best you speak Chinese and know what the prices were.

Well, we speak Chinese. So we had that under control. But as I went on this venture with 2 other white friends, we had to have some power behind us. Enter: Qiu Qiu, Elise's roommate. This is a quiet, early-to-bed, studious, well-mannered, caged lion. I have not had the pleasure of seeing her in action, but Elise couldn't help bragging about her roommate's haggling skills at the night market. So, we went to her for advice. We told her what we intended to buy and she told us how much the price should be. This is good advice, folks, so take your pens out. For example, 1 dvd should cost no more than 5 kuai, but the more you buy at one place the cheaper the individual price should be. Bags should be between 30 and 50 kuai. She says that if you pay more than 50 kuai for a purse, you're being terribly ripped off. Any kind of jade our jewelry is fake, so the price should be quite low, no more than 10 kuai for any necklace or earrings.

We were well prepared. We knew to clutch our bags tightly and never let go, we knew to keep sight of each other in a such a busy place, we knew our goals, and we had Qiu Qiu's phone number in case anything went awry. This, however, was not quite enough. There was still that one small hitch of not being Chinese.

Chinese night markets have everything. Teapots, fans, jeans, shoes, jewelry, watches, bags, underwear, live kittens, pillows, DVDs galore, personalized name stamps for Chinese paintings, and other trash and treasures. You just have to have the patience to look around.

One of my friends had her heart set on a computer bag. As a necessity, she decided she couldn't leave the night market without one. Qiu Qiu said that they would start high. The initial price for any Chinese person would be in the 200 or 300 kuai range. Not for us! Starting price? 420 kuai! For a bag that should be around 50 kuai. To be fair, we even reasoned that it wasn't a purse, but more of a sturdy backpack, so an acceptable price would be 70 kuai. Three different stands, all with the same fake computer backpack, would absolutely not hear of selling for less than 100 kuai. Even the whole, slow-walk-away move did nothing. They all let us go. Finally my friend gave in and decided that, although she was being ripped off, it was still a better price than she would get in the U.S., and she didn't mind paying for something she considered necessary. 100 kuai, sold.

After I had my fill of DVD heaven (I bought a movie called The Boat That Rocked starring Phillip Seymour Hoffman for a reasonable 5 kuai), I moved on to Chinese writing brushes, or 毛笔 (maobi). It wasn't on the list, though, so I didn't know what the price should be! I did remember, though, that in our school's general store they were selling maobi for around 2 kuai, so they ought to be fairly inexpensive. I also knew that the general's store sells fairly low-quality maobi, and I wouldn't mind paying a few more kuai for a well-decorated, higher quality one. So I used my gut and decided I'd hear his price and counter with 7 kuai. I spoke in Chinese, made eye contact with the seller, and barely heard his price before stating "too much." I offered 7 kuai. He said he'd made the maobi himself and was unwilling to sell that low. I probably could have snagged a beautiful, 7 kuai maobi, but I took the bait and upped it to 10 kuai. He still wouldn't have it, but I'd just hit my max. 10 kuai felt like it was right were it should be. When he said no, I simply said thank you, that his price (30 down from about 60) was too much, and I started to walk away. I didn't get very far, though, because he almost instantly called me back. I paid for my new, lovely brush and felt a surge of self confidence and pride as a Chinese onlooker who had watched the transaction turned to me and said "很利害"!

Travel tip #8: At China's night markets be aggressive, be persistent, know what the prices should be, and speak Chinese. If you're not actually Chinese, be prepared to be ripped off on some items, but just remember that in the end, you're paying with RMB.