Hands down the best place to shop for arts (yishu), crafts (gongyi) and antiques (guwan) in Beijing is Panjiayuan (aka the Dirt or Sun¬day Market). The market takes place only at weekends and has everything from cal¬ligraphy, Cultural Revolution memorabilia and cigarette ad posters to Buddha heads, ceramics and Tibetan carpets. The market hosts up to 50,000 visitors a day scoping for treasures. Serious collectors are the early birds, swooping here at dawn to snare those precious relics. If you want to join them, early Sunday morning is the best time. You might not find that rare Qianlong doucai stem cup or late Yuan dynasty qing¬hua vase, but what's on view is no less than a compendium of Chinese curios and an A to Z of Middle Kingdom knick-knacks. Bear in mind that this market is chaos - especially if you find crowds or hard bargaining intimi¬dating. Also, ignore the 'don't pay more than half rule here - some vendors might start at 10 times the real price. Make a few rounds to compare prices and weigh it all up before forking out for anything. Off Dongsanhuan Nanlu (Third Ring Rd).