Spooktacular

The term ghost market has nothing to do with Gui Jie in Dongzhimen, where restaurants are abundant. Nor does it have anything to do with ghosts in general. So what exactly does a ghost market mean?

Ask an average Beijinger or those who collect bric-a-brac and they will tell you that it is a market that opens at dawn and closes later in the morning. The market sells stuff a bit like what is sold at Panjiayuan market today, such as antiques, jade, snuff bottles and vases. Yet there are differences that distinguish the ghost market from all the others in terms of origin, content and character. Lifestyle went on a hunt for the "ghosts" hidden in the markets.

A noble gathering

Historically Deshengmen, Xuanwumen and Chongwenmen city gates were the three main places where markets of this kind were located. These markets were formed by citizens with no officials involved. Gao Wei, director of the Beijing Society of History and Geography, told the Global Times that the ghost markets got their name because they were often held from midnight to early morning, which was traditionally the time for ghosts to emerge.

They also acquired the name because nobles used to sell their own stuff at these markets, attracted to them due to their anonymous nature. In essence, the nobles were the ghosts, hiding away in the still of the night to conduct activities they would be otherwise ashamed of. "In the late Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), many royal banners used the early hours to come down to places on the city borders or outside the city to sell their family belongings and make money to feed themselves," he said. "They chose to do business at these locations in the early hours because what they were doing was embarrassing for nobles and they didn't want many people to recognize them."

Then, when the Qing Dynasty fell and the old order became a target, many nobles sold off all their belongings at these markets before they were officially confiscated by the police. "They managed to sell their products quickly at a cheaper price before they were confiscated," Gao said.

At the ghost markets, an interesting way of bargaining also developed. Instead of the loud bargaining that happens in today's markets, buyers and sellers at the ghost markets in the past would bargain a price through subtle hand movements. "This way of bargaining was a good way to secure a deal without letting others around you know what you were willing to pay," Gao added.

Treasure amongst trash

With the passage of time, ghost markets today have experienced change in the same way that most things have. Only a couple of ghost markets now exist, which can be found in the Huguosi region in Xicheng district and Daliushu (better known as Hezhong market in Chaoyang district).

These two markets have only been around for a few decades. They still open at dawn like the imperial markets.

However, rather than selling precious collections like they did before, most of the products on sale are stolen or fake.

Forty-year-old Yang Ziyi, a Beijing collector who has been to ghost markets countless times, said it is important to have a pair of professional eyes when at the markets in order to separate the good from the bad. "My buddies and I prefer to go to ghost markets to get things because the selection is wide," he said. Yang labeled himself a professional digger or hunter in the field, since in order to obtain the most precious things, he will go there as early as the vendors. "3:30 am to 5 am is the golden time for shopping," Yang explained. "By the time the sun comes up, what is still left for sale is generally useless and valueless."

To Yang and his buddies, the ghost markets have always been full of hidden gems to hunt out. "A friend of mine even got a cigarette holder, which the vendor thought was made of silver but was actually gold," he said.

"Another time, a person bought a fake Rolex watch for five yuan ($0.80), but when he took it to a pawn shop to check, it turned out to be real."

Yang himself bought some worn electronic equipment, such as a radio, for less than 100 yuan and managed to add hundreds more yuan onto their value.

Since the ghost markets are non-official assembly points often selling illegal products, they are naturally targets of chengguan (city management officers).

However, they have remained to this day. If they do cease to exist in the future, it will be for another reason. "Today there are many markets and trading places around town, which are open all the time and at more civilized hours. Ghost markets that only open in the early hours are losing their appeal more than ever as a result," Yang said.