Pearl Market

A couple of us carved out a little time to venture down to the Hong Qiao Pearl Market today.

As soon as I walked through the doors I wanted to leave. Inside was a nightmare that was part flea market and part carnival midway.

“Hello. Hello, sir. Do you like (fill-in-the blank). Hello. Hello sir. We have. Look. Look here. Hello. Hello sir.”

Every few feet we were accosted by an aggressive barker, er, salesperson, trying to lure us inside their booth. There must have been a hundred booths filled with every possible scarf, toy, figurine, painting, wind sock, knick-knack and tacky collectible.

And that was just the first floor.

The second floor was more of the same, although we didn’t stick around long enough to explore after one of the salespeople reached out and grabbed my colleague’s arm.

Fortunately the third floor had a calmer atmosphere, albeit only a slightly higher-class of goods. But the fourth floor – well, this was like ascending into heaven.

Here were the nice shops, spread out like an American shopping mall with friendly, but respectful staffs. There was no pressure, but there were plenty of classy places to shop for jewelry.

We stumbled into one shop, RuPeiPei, and evidently we weren’t the first Americans to land there. Pictures of celebrities like Arnold Schwarzenegger and Jesse Ventura – both in their governor’s garb – dotted the walls.

The owner Pei Pei and her fine staff helped us and encouraged us to invite our friends to stop by.

Consider yourself invited. But remember to take the express elevator straight to the 4th floor.

Pearl Market