Huajue Lane at Muslim Quarter
Nestled within the Muslim Quarter near the Great Mosque, the narrow Huajue Lane is a typical souvenir market, selling antique replicas, local handcrafts, Chinese silk products, paintings and calligraphy works. It’s the perfect place to give your haggling skills a workout too, so come feeling confident.
Xicang Market
Xicang Market was established late in the Qing dynasty. Originally it was a market for flowers, birds, fish, and insects. Today, it’s a market for just about everything. Expect to find plants, old books, magazines, secondhand objects, daily utensils, as well as birds, fish and Chinese crickets. For an experience of local Xianese life, spend a happy couple of hours absorbing the energy and observing the antics of vendors and their customers.
Xi’an Town’s God Temple Market
Located close to City God Temple at West Avenue, is the Temple Market. Originally famous for handicrafts, stationery, sewing odds and ends, and other small commodities, the market has gained a new lease on life since the City God Temple was renovated. It continues to attract both locals and travelers. Allow a couple of hours to wander here without feeling rushed.
Shuyuanmen Street
A mere stone’s throw away from the South City Gate, alongside the city wall, Shuyuanmen is a street tastefully reconstructed in the style of the Ming and Qing dynasties. On both sides of the street, are stores and shops that sell Chinese art, calligraphy, paintings, and other authentic traditional handicrafts. Our pick for lovers of bespoke anything? Stay cool with a classical Chinese fan customized with Chinese calligraphy, or have a Chinese seal made with your name written in Chinese on it. The more adventurous can learn to play the xun, the oldest musical instrument in China.
Xiaodongmen Antique Market
Originally a flea market and going by the moniker ‘Ghost Market’ because people came to trade secondhand goods and antiques after midnight, Xiaodongmen is now an antique market frequented by local antique collectors who are out hunting for ‘treasure’. Expect the hustle and bustle of a genuine market appreciated by locals and anyone who loves the unusual.
Saturday Flea Market at Tang West Market
The International Antique City at Tang West Market is the largest antique market in northwestern China and the Saturday Flea Market here is popular with local people who are hobby antique collectors. Scour through stalls selling coins, porcelain, jade, paintings, calligraphy, old watches, out of print books. You can even expect to find your own copy of the ‘red book’ if that interests you too.
Northwest International Tea City
Opening in 2015, the Northwest International Tea City is a wholesale center for tea and teaware. Unlike other traditional wholesale markets, Tea City is a modern stylish complex housing tea shops and food. Of course, you’ll find virtually every kind of Chinese tea here, from leading brands to unusual and difficult-to-find teas.
Jianguomen Old Market
Located within the Xi’an City Wall in the southeast corner, the Jianguomen Old Market is a destination fondly regarded by locals as the place where many happy childhood hours were spent. The original wet market has been upgraded and redeveloped as a cultural and creative area that houses the market itself, as well as cafes, bars, restaurants, homestays, art exhibitions, and bookstores.
