Hongqiao Pearl Market

Wait, we're not done!

I mean Thursday, September 19 wasn't done. The sun had just about vanished in to the layers of perma-smog hovering 15 degrees above Beijing's western horizon. The sky, the streets, the buildings and our skins were all the same shade of diseased pink. Exhaust clogged our nostrils and weariness our veins. But there was one thing we had to do before we hopped the subway back to Chongwenmen Station and our hotel.

I am speaking, of course, of Hongqiao Pearl Market.

It's not just pearls, actually. The first floor's all souvenirs: kitschy stuff similar to Donghuamen Alley or Insadong-gil. The next few floors are all fake jewelry, mother-of-pearl and cubic zirconia. The real stuff's on the upper floors.

Unless you count this.

Miss H, Miss J and I didn't spare much thought for souvenirs as we stepped off the elevator on the 5th floor. We didn't spare much thought for pearls, either. But then we got to lookin' and, well, things just sort of happened.

The pearls—the real ones—were ridiculously cheap. I won't say much about what we got or what it cost, 'cause some of it's going to be early Christmas gifts. I will say, however, that Heather got all of her wedding jewelry—earrings, pendant, bracelet—for practically nil. The lady helping us (she went by the name "Mindy") ran a tight shop with a center island, shelves on both walls, and a small back room. At the workshop table, in plain sight, was a rather tight-lipped assistant, and (presumably) Mindy's little six-year-old daughter colored while listening to an audiobook in the center of the island. Charming scene, really.

We watched as the assistant threaded a pearl necklace and Mindy put together a bracelet for Miss J's big-wristed friend.

We had another one of those "sophisticated" moments. World travelers in the audience know what I'm talking about. They hit you when you're sitting on a beach in Thailand with a sweating zombie in your fist, or looking out over the green hills of Africa from your open-air bungalow and wondering what combination of taupe and khaki to wear on that day's safari. You feel cool and competent and contented and thoroughly pleased with yourself. You're a jet-setting, straight-shooting, street-smart globe-trotter and you know it. And it hits you, just smacks you in the face. That's the kind of moment I mean. The three of us shared one as we sat in the massive Hongqiao Pearl Market in Beijing and had some pieces done up for us. 

Mindy was very good to us. She cut us some sweet deals, attended to our every need, and made us as comfortable as possible. In all seriousness: if you're anywhere near Beijing and you feel the need for some freshwater pearls, look Mindy up. Fifth floor of the Hongqiao Pearl Market. Second shop on your left. Can't miss it.

There, now I've vaunted for the day. I feel better.

We made only one other stop on the way back to our hotel rooms: the convenience store on the first floor of the Novotel Xin Qiao, where we stocked up on snacks for THE GREAT WALL AT MUTIANYU the following morning. I think I blew something like ¥300 ($50) on this little lot. The stuff in the bag is bread (assorted buns and rolls) from the Sapporo Bakery next door to the hotel. And before you ask, yes, the whisky was absolutely necessary.

Stay tuned...