In the early days, the open-air market would open for only a few hours every day. It was also called a "ghost market," which means black market. The market for rare artwork developed fast. By 1990, the narrow hutong lanes were so crowded on the weekends that traders moved their "stalls" to a small patch of woods beside the Panjiayuan Bridge.

Hiding in the woods, hawkers spread out antiques in the shadows of boulders. Many of them were farmers from suburban Beijing or nearby provinces who sold items they had scraped together from their villages.

It was only in 1994 that trade in art and auctions were legalized. Countless art markets have sprouted around the city ever since.

Local authorities wanted to put an end to this business in the woods but failed. They then decided to build a proper market and have the hawkers pay rent.

And so the Panjiayuan Antiques Market came into being in 1995, the first legal antiques market in Beijing.

Stall space is so sought after here that many stall holders sub-let their stalls to others at daily rates much higher than theirs, making themselves a nice little profit without actually having to sell anything.

Songzhuang Art Community

Songzhuang art community was established in 2003 in the Songzhuang painter village of Beijing. It was transformed by the Songzhuang supply and marketing cooperative and is more than 2,000 square meters in size, including an exhibition hall area of 400 square meters, and artist studios.

The purpose of the Songzhuang art community is to support an art exchange platform of the creation, exhibition and academy for Songzhuang artists, or engage in avant-garde art. It will strengthen the art atmosphere of the Songzhuang painter village as an avant-garde village.