To Market, To Market...

I left Beijing for the Pacific Northwest in mid May. After two and a half months away, mainly doing a variety of fun stuff on skis and bikes, traveling to visit family and friends, I returned on August 9th to hot and humid Beijing. 

You know you have returned to China as soon as you step foot into a local market. On this particular Sunday morning, as we entered the cavernous Zuojiazhuang Market (左家庄) my senses were immediately assailed by sights, smells, sounds, shapes and textures I hadn't seen for months. I am overwhelmed by the variety of fruits, meats, spices and vegetables available for purchase. I uncomfortably shirk from the jostling taking place between customers queueing haphazardly in front of stalls selling breakfast or take-out delicacies, household goods, clothing and footwear, plants and garden items. I am surprised by the subtle snip snip sounds coming from several barbers and seamstress plying their craft. The noise, already loud, rises an additional decibel or two first when the market loudspeaker blares something indiscernible and then again when merchants, already speaking in loud outdoor voices, become more shrill in an attempt to be heard over the equally loud shouts of their adjacent competitors. Finally, I find I have trouble concentrating or focusing on any one thing due to the frenetic movement of the many many patrons,  shop keepers and their helpers as they weave in and out of narrow aisles going about their business.  Certainly the visual scene is not helped by the articles of clothing worn by young and old, men, women and children alike, as they try to remain comfortable in the oppressive heat and humidity of the somewhat enclosed, somewhat open air market.

The previous day, Chunman and I went to the Zuojiazhuang Market to buy fruit, meats and vegetables we needed for the coming week. Today, we went back to the market to help orient several International School of Beijing new hires to the market and its wonderful offerings. Chunman discovered this market a year ago as she was searching for a market that we used to frequent when we lived in Beijing from 1995 to 2002. It seems that the market she was "looking" for was under renovation, and someone in the vicinity of that market recommended she try the Zuojiazhuang Market instead. She did and has been coming to the Zuojiazhuang Market for our food ever since. Oh sure, there are alternatives, such as vegetable or fruit stands, several smaller local markets, "grocery stores" or local "super markets" with prepackaged goods all within a couple minutes walking distance from our apartment. We do occasionally frequent these closer local markets, but prefer the larger variety and the vibrancy of the Zuojiazhuang Market whenever schedule permits. And whenever the opportunity arises, we enjoy introducing "our" market to our friends.

(1) Parking is almost non-existant so many people get to the market by bus. This woman is waiting for her bus...

(2) Some come by foot and others by bike. This gentleman rides through a puddle left over from the previous evenings rains...

(3) Just inside the front door it begins; seated high on a hill of watermelons, this vendor hams it up for the crowd...

(4) Ripe, succulent and mouth watering delicious; a perfect antidote to the day's heat and humidity...

(5) Cinnamon sticks and Anise seeds...

(6) Dates...

(7) This clothing vendor finds the morning heat and humidity a bit much for her...

(8) This gent is selling eggplant, cucumber, peppers and long string beans...

(9) Along the back walls there are a number of stall selling household items; mops and brushes in abundance...

(10) This vegetable is Amaranth which, according to Wikipedia, is valued as a leafy vegetable, cereal or as an ornamental plant. I have no idea what it tastes like..

(11) Mushrooms of every shape and texture...

(12) You can't squeeze the Charmin but please squeeze the Eggplant...

(13) Weighing a bag of tomatoes...

(14) Finding safety behind a mound of long string beans...

(15) Sacks and sacks of legumes of all colors...

(16) Pots of pickled vegetables... 

(17) Cutting noodles the traditional way...

(18) Hand made noodles ready for purchase..

(19) This fruit is Rambutan which according to Wikipedia is native to Indonesia and Malaysia. I have no idea what it tastes like...

(20) Rearranging the tomato pile...

(21) Grapes are in season...

(22) Mom, Dad and their son man the green onion stand...

(23) Green onions ready for purchase; there were bags of green onion under the table ready to restock the counter if these get bought up...

(24) Selling green onions is serious business. I could not get this guy to crack a smile...

(25) Along one wall are the meat, poultry and fish vendors. Little fish are plentiful...

(26) Larger fish...

(27) Still more fish...

(28) Jeffrey, the son of one of the new ISB teachers, is fascinated by the box of eels. He later bought a small turtle, for a pet, at one of the other stalls...

(29) The chickens, birds and ducks have been busy...

(30) This vendor is taking a break to catch up on the news. You know it is hot and humid when the shirt is rolled up nipple high to enable any available breeze to cool the torso...

(31) These guys are checking out their purchase of several small pet fish...

(32) Large sack filled with chili peppers...

(33) Trays and trays of spices...

(34) Spice, oil, soy sauce, and condiment vendor... 

(35) Rows and rows of tables, each stall selling fruit and vegetables for as far as the eye can see...

(36) By 1 PM, all the stalls will be emptied out and the unsold produce packed into these vans for another day...

Zuojiazhuang Market is a morning market. Vendors arrive early in the morning to set up shop and by 1 PM they pack up their goods and return to their farms or homes. The Zuojiazhuang Market can be located within the Zuojiazhuang Residential District, in Chaoyang, Beijing. It is situated in a quaint park boarded on the north side by the #101 National Road (or Xiangheyuan Road), on the west side by Xindong Road, somewhat equal distance between the 2nd and 3rd Ring Roads, and overshadowed by the elevated Airport Expressway… 

All pictures taken with Nikon J1 Digital Camera and 1 Nikkor 18.5 Lens.