Chengtian Antiques Market opened its doors in September 2006,

It is a large complex based at the entrance to the main Shilihe commercial street.

For those not acquainted with the area, Shilihe has the highest concentration of interior type shops and superstores anywhere in Beijing.

Chengtian Antiques Market was developed after the owners of the Chengtian Hostel, a mid-week venue where the stallholders who frequent panjiayuan can be found, had to relocate their business after redevelopment of the south Panjiayuan area.

Chengtian Antiques Market consists of two buildings, building A and building B, which are interconnected.

Building A opened later in 2006. It is a light spacious complex with escalators and lifts. Building A is a more upmarket affair, the shops are considerably larger, and each shop has been carefully designed by its proprietor, this makes viewing of the goods on show a much more exciting experience, and should also suggest to customers new ways in which they can enhance their own homes.

Apart from the manner in which antique art can be displayed, the various display spaces also provide an insight into current Chinese thought on interior design in conjunction with classic art.

Most shops combine traditional interior features, such as classic furniture, tea paraphenalia and rocks and flowers, with the day to day business of presentation and sale of antique items.

As a result the market has attracted a cross section of antiques dealers, artists, art dealers and wealthy afficionados, and boasts a healthy proportion of genuine works, including a high proportion of objects purchased outside of China as part of the general impetus of "returning culture" .

Specialists within building A cover such areas as:

Chinese classical furniture, many dealers combine a general stock, including furniture. There is also excellent quality antique hard wood furniture that has been brought back from the west, however caution is advised due to the recent wave of interest in classical hard wood furniture and escalating prices stimulating the appearance of a large number of recent high quality fakes and earlier reproductions. There are also dealers who are selling modern reproduction furniture, mainly on the ground floor though, and these should be easy to distinguish. If in doubt visit Ocean Art on the fourth floor.

Buddhist art is also well represented, with a number of dealers in Tibetan Art, and a specialist in early beads.

Stonework and sculpture, there being many dealers with a mixed stock including a variety of architectural and religious sculpture, whilst there are also three or four specialist shops. Common items are tomb guardian figures, fish bowls, stele, garden rocks, fossilised wood

Zaxiang: the fourth floor houses a number of "zaxiang" dealers, "zaxiang" can be loosely defined as everything except porcelain, it means roughly "a mixture" or non-specialised, although personally I think "zaxiang" dealers are less prone to BS. I class myself as a Zaxiang dealer.

Snuff-bottles: a number of the Zaxiang dealers also specialise in snuff-bottles

Silk embroidery: Many shops sell good embroideries, and there are specialist embroidery shops in both buildings A and B.

Wooden and lacquer objects: these can be divided mainly into curiosities, such as root wood carvings or other such natural forms, scholars objects including small screens, boxes, pens and brushpots, decorative items such as larger panels with lacquered dedications or decoration and practical boxes and trunks.

Western art and Returning art: there are a number of dealers within the complex who have a high concentration of stock brought in from the west, whilst Ocean Art on the fourth floor also offers western objects and furniture.

Building B opened slightly before building A in 2006. It mainly attracts trade buyers, partly due to the presence of the Chengtian Hostel on the fourth floor. Chengtian Hostel provides cheap accomodation to the traders who can be found at all the other markets in Beijing, including Panjiayuan. These traders use the hostel as a base, and the hostel allows trading within its rooms, therefore it is very much open house. The hostel is on the fourth floor, and is accessible by both a lift and escalators.

The remainder of building B consists of a mixture of small dealers. A rough survey brings to mind reproduction clocks, jades, scholars objects, Tibetan art, silk embroideries, and a variety of mixed antiques shops. There are also some picture dealers. There is also a stand specialising in padded trinket boxes, so if you want a box to put some prized piece of porcelain in, this is the place to get it, they make them to size as well.

In addition there are now occasionally traders selling reproduction stonework outside in the carpark. The last time I looked, there were at least five lorries involved.

There is also a picture complex behind Chengtian Antiques market where it is possible to get framing work done. They also sell huge reproduction oil paintings if you are into that kind of thing.

Chengtian Antiques Market is reached from the south east third ring road, coming off at the Shilihe exit, and turning east into Shilihe itself. There are some bus stops just after the turning, then take the first right hand turning between Guomei Electrical Appliances and the Meilian market, Chengtian Antiques Market is the second L shaped building on the right after the turn.

Information provide by Peter Offord, proprietor of Ocean Art, Shop 411 Building A, Chengtian Antiques Market, Shilihe, South East Third Ring Road, Beijing. (Currently the only westerner in the antiques trade in Beijing).