It was another freezing morning. Our hands and feet were getting numb from the cold despite the thick socks and jackets.
We were not quite dressed up for the winter weather. So we looked for some gloves and boots.
The street of Xinjiekou had plenty of stalls selling gloves but no boots! Not a single pair. My friend badly needed a pair of boots. He mentioned we should go to the Beijing Zoo Market.
THE ZOO MARKET
Not a zoo of course. It's a huge mall. Notable by its glass façade.
This market is located across the Beijing Zoo, hence the name. In this part of the world, they call it a market. It’s comparable to Divisoria or Tutuban in the Philippines. More of a shopping center rather than a market. This huge market is one of the cheapest place to buy clothes in Beijing.
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| Vendor @ the Zoo Market |
THE ZOO MARKET
Not a zoo of course. It's a huge mall. Notable by its glass façade.
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| In front of the Zoo Market |
This market is located across the Beijing Zoo, hence the name. In this part of the world, they call it a market. It’s comparable to Divisoria or Tutuban in the Philippines. More of a shopping center rather than a market. This huge market is one of the cheapest place to buy clothes in Beijing.
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| Above the subway |
Inside the Market
The place was full of people. Bumping and criss-crossing onto one another. The latest techno music blares from multiple sources overlapping each other. Shoppers were definitely on steroids but personally, I don't mind the chaos. I expected all that.
High piles of shirts, pants, hoodies, and the likes were amassed on the floor in front of each individual booths.
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| One of the stalls |
I was talking to one salesguy about the nice shirts he was selling. I have learned that in Beijing, this place is a fashion hub for Beijingers. It's the place to get the latest style on street fashion. It’s the ‘it’ place according to the salesguy.
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| Salesguy |
Interestingly enough, they consider big shopping malls unfashionable. I find his statement conflicting because I noticed so many "fake" items. Obviously imitated from what expensive shopping malls are selling.
Class A
A quick glance at the place tells me that ‘branded items’ were everywhere. Fake is the word. There’s even a level of fakeness. They call it 'Class A'. A quality which drives the value up. I assumed there was not a single item in here that is original.
Salesperson
Good-looking guys. Cute girls with flamboyant hairs and makeup. They churn between the stalls as they punch their calculators and show the prices to your face.
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| Salesladies |
Full Monty
What was pleasantly shocking to me was the culture. Inside the mens toilet, the individual stall has no door. A toilet bowl is absent (typical in Beijing’s public toilet). The shit hole was on the floor. Guys were doing their business in the open, squatted on a pit, doing their thing like it's nobody’s business. Just minding their phone, surfing or whatever, in full monty, dangling and all.
Please continue reading on to PART 6.
What was pleasantly shocking to me was the culture. Inside the mens toilet, the individual stall has no door. A toilet bowl is absent (typical in Beijing’s public toilet). The shit hole was on the floor. Guys were doing their business in the open, squatted on a pit, doing their thing like it's nobody’s business. Just minding their phone, surfing or whatever, in full monty, dangling and all.
Please continue reading on to PART 6.
A really awesome China!
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