January 11, 2012

Z is for Zhongshan

For the last letter of Round 9 at ABC Wednesday I'm bringing you to a favorite market of mine, the Zhongshan Antique Furniture Market.

When I first visited this market many years ago, there was no fancy gate like this to greet us and no real buildings, just a small loose group of vendors in makeshift structures selling antiques collected in villages near and far. (It's a pity I did not carry a camera in those early days!)


The market has expanded significantly over the decades and today it is an enormous formal complex of vendors selling antiques real and reproduced. Not only furniture, but you can find garden decor, home decoratives and knickknacks here... in stone, metal, wood and ceramic.

I am going to let my photos tell you the rest of the story.







 



Zhongshan, Guangdong, 2009

The red bubble between the City of Zhongzhan and Macau marks the spot where this market is.

27 comments:

VioletSky said...

Those happy faced stone carvings in picture #5 are adorable with the little boy sitting in front!

Traveling Hawk said...

That thing in the 3rd photo could be a...drum?
Wonderful things and photos! I have seen such beautiful things only at an antiqueS shop in...Santa Fe, NM!

photowannabe said...

Wonderful photos. The little boy between the two statues is priceless. I really like the composition of all the bowls and figurines.
Its always a pleasure to come here and see parts of the world I probably won't be able to visit.

jennyfreckles said...

Wow, that looks like treasure trove. I could happily spend hours (and loadsa money) there.

Carola said...

What a great collection of fascinating photos. They tell a whole story! To have the map is nice.

EG CameraGirl said...

What a wonderful place to shop...or to browse...or to just take photos.

Tina´s PicStory said...

very beautiful pics! :)

tapirgal said...

There are so many cool things here, and my favorite is the photo of the ceramic horses near the top of the post. Truly antique or not, I could live with these!

Kathy said...

Looks like a photographer's paradise!

Vicki/Jake said...

Wonderfull eye candy! How different from the antique shops in the US....

ArtandArchitecture-SF.com said...

Wow, gorgeous photos. Makes me want to run right in and shop, looks like lots of treasures and lots of eye candy.

Sallie (FullTime-Life) said...

What a great place to browse around. I like this kind of shopping -- just enjoying the people and the colors. Especially loved the glimpses of the people. That little boy in front of the carvings is just wonderful as well as the baby learning to walk and her proud papa!

Roger Owen Green said...

I zeriously doubt that anyone else picked this colorful place!
ROG, ABC Wednesday team

Kay L. Davies said...

Amazing photos, Francisca. I especially like the ones with children, in particular the little boy with the two statues, but the variety of colourful antiques and pseudo-antiques is fabulous.
K

Andrea said...

Probably they have everything a collector wants. I most especially love the photo with the boy, you were able to get his expression saying a lot!

[My first travel to China was in Xiamen, where i had the chance to stay with a Chinese family in their 4story stone bldg housing all the extended families. I was with a Chinese Family friend from here also. I want to ask you if you've noticed the little kids with overall sweaters with open rear? That is supposed to be an easy way for them to poo, and the skin of their behind are so red from the cold. I am so amazed with that, unfortunately i don't have a good camera those days]

Anita Johnson said...

Always enjoy coming along for the ride. The maps are very helpful! (o:

Gerald (SK14) said...

an unusual Z and such a fascinating place.

joo said...

I'm sure it would be my favourite market too:)

J.Rylie.C said...

Beautiful photos Ms. Francisca.

Zing is it for me. Hope you can visit and see. Have a nice day!

Kaori said...

Looks like a really interesting place! I do love the stories that you photos tell, Francisca. THat pillar with the little men carved in it is amazing!

PS: You gave me a great idea on how to write often to my grandma! I'm thinking about printing out some of my pictures as postcards and sending them out every week or so ;D

Chubskulit Rose said...

A market as beautiful as that would be my favorite too.

Zodiac is one of my entries. Come see it when you get a chance. Thanks!

Louis la Vache said...

«Louis», even with this brief exposure to it, can see why you would classify this as a favorite! He would have a fine time visiting this market himself!

Gattina said...

I would love to have a walk throug all this,looks so pretty and interesting !
Gattina
ABC Wednesday

Inger-M said...

The chinese certainly know how to make a gate, it's beautiful! Great picture story.

Unknown said...

Fabulous photos, Francisca! The details are absolutely beautiful.

Chronicles of Illusions said...

a great series - what a great entry to finish with
http://jobryantnz.wordpress.com/2012/01/15/z-is-for-zinke/

cieldequimper said...

You are going to make me want to go to China. This coming from a person who has never been particularly interested in Asia...