Yesterday, we went to Beijing's rainbow market, which is a good place to shop for silk, jade, pearls, and designer purse knock-offs-- the kind of things tourists like. My Chinese tutor tells me the natives seldom shop there.
When a Westerner walks by a stand, one or more sales people, actually grab the potential shopper by the hand. "Come sir, come Madam... excellent price." Joe kind of liked being grabbed by pretty Chinese girls. I, on the other hand, felt I was being assaulted. Maybe this stimulated my aggression-- I did some excellent bargaining yesterday.
The merchants were more restrained on the uppermost floor where pearls and high quality jade are sold.
Above: women stringing pearl necklaces to order.
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